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View Full Version : Do I have a lawuit?


nik23
Oct 16, 2010, 08:27 PM
My son had a concussion at school playing on the playground. The teacher did not see what happen as to what she say. She did ot contact me after the accident.

JudyKayTee
Oct 17, 2010, 06:40 AM
If the teacher didn't see it, who did? Can you prove it happened at school? Did the teacher know about it even if she didn't see it? Who did contact you? Is there some reason to sue? Is there any lingering effect of injury? If you are concerned about long term effects, document all that you can such as affidavits from people who witnessed the event, and of course medical records.

I guess I'm old fashioned - kids get injured at play and if the doctor's visit is covered by insurance and there are no long term ill effects, why sue a school?


You are both old fashioned and wrong from a legal standpoint.

I'm a liability investigator - if there are medical bills, pain/suffering, long-term after effects, yes, contact an Attorney. If it's a concussion, yes, you have damages.

You do not need affidavits. You don't even need witnesses. The harsh truth is that it is the job of the teacher to supervise. If a child was injured the teacher was NOT doing her job. I'm not talking about what should be done. I'm talking about a simple legal issue and that's how it is. The child walked into the playground without a concussion and left with a concussion.

There are medical reports which indicate what/where happened. There are other children present.

Did the school fill out a report? Did you?

Fr_Chuck
Oct 17, 2010, 07:11 AM
I guess I will disagree, you will need to prove that the school neglected and had some fault, if they child merely fell, or jumped, or let go and the child ( or perhaps another child) was the cause, I can not see how the school can be at fault. ** for the accident at least. If they knew of some unsafe equipment and did not fix it.

Also how many kids was the teacher watching, one teacher can not always see what 40 kids are doing on a playground.

Next what did your child tell the teacher when they got hurt, did they run to her crying or what.

JudyKayTee
Oct 17, 2010, 09:24 AM
I both agree and disagree with you - I work at least two playground accidents a year. It always comes down to what a teacher (or an aide) should have been doing/watching/seeing. The argument against the school is understaffing - if one teacher can't supervise everyone, then the District should hire more people, or so goes the legal argument.

I'm not saying I agree but that's what I get paid to look for.

A lot of this depends on the age of the children, was there horseplay that should have been stopped, a number of factors.

And then it comes down to damages.

I would be more concerned that the child had a concussion and no one notified the parent - ?

Depending on the State if another child caused the accident (I worked an accident where one child pushed another off the top of a slide) the other parent may (or may not) be responsible.

I don't always agree with the law but these are the things I get paid to "ferret" out.