We called 911 after the school and the afterschool daycare bus driver searched for my child for nearly an hour, only to find that my child had been taken into another part of the school building with a different after school program. Did the unauthorized After school program break the law (ie, kidnap or false imprisonment) by taking my child without authorization? Is it grounds for lawsuit for damages from the emotional stress and trauma endured during the search? A seven year old went missing in our area last year, but was found dead in a garbage dump field days later.

Was this a criminal act? Sorry I don't see even close to that. You don't indicate what explanation the school gave.

Do you have a lawsuit? Maybe, If procedures were not properly followed causing you distress, it might be grounds for a suit. But without knowing the full story, I don't know how strong a case you might have.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

Was this a criminal act? Sorry I don't see even close to that. You don't indicate what explanation the school gave.

Do you have a lawsuit? Maybe, If procedures were not properly followed causing you distress, it might be grounds for a suit. But without knowing the full story, I don't know how strong a case you might have.

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Here are the details:
After school children who are going to offsite afterschool care facilities are taken outside to the pickup lanes in front of the school when the school day ends about 2:30pm. While standing in line, my child ended up being taken with another After school group operating in-house within the school building, therefore, the child was not present when the bus came to pick him up.

The school staff suggested that the lines are close together and the child may have been mixed in the in-house group of students. The In-house program should have identified and logged in and counted each of the students on hand, but did not. My eventually discovered when he noticed that his name was being called over the intercom system nearly an hour later.

By then, both the school and the parents had call 911 to report a missing child who were on the scene when the child was discovered. The parent was informed that the school thought the child may have some how decided to walk home alone. Therefore, prior to the child's discovery, the parent had been canvassing the neighborhood route that the child could have taken if he had walked home alone.

It seemed to be some form of negligence on the part of the In-house program to take the unauthorized child and negligence to have him in their custody for such extended period without identifying the child as not belonging in their group.

It seems to be grounds for personal injury in the pain and anguish experienced by the parent who was called and informed of the missing child, who searched frantically in the neighborhood for the child, and who call 911 to report the child missing after his search

Negligence yes, criminal negligence, no. The school needs to retrain personnel and sanction the personnel responsible in this case.

And, as I said, there is a case for a suit. But pain and anguish is not a "personal injury". I would consult with an attorney to determine the strength of your case.

But what is it you really want here? Do you want a payday because the school screwed up, or do you want the school or tighten it's procedures to ensure it doesn't happen again (or both)?

I would like both for the school to change their procedures. I would like for the After School Program Organization which is a separate organization from the school, that took my son to change their procedures and pay for the pain and suffering I endured. I was emotionally traumatized by having to call 911 to file a missing person report and by the panic search for my son done in the neighborhood. The thoughts of my son missing over half an hour after school was like someone telling me my son died in a fatal accident, only to find out that it was not my son. It was the most traumatic experience of my life, even though it turned out favorably.

My public display of uncontrollable emotions were embarrassing and painful. At this point, I have still not been able to meet with the school staff or the After School Program staff to discuss the matter further in fear of me having another emotional out burst just talking about what was going through knowing my son was missing.

Hello m:

I think you have a case. I'd hire a good lawyer. DON'T talk to the school WITHOUT him.

excon

I do not mean to minimize what you went through. As a parent I can understand the anguish of not knowing where you child is.

But the law make a big distinction between negligence and criminal negligence. And I just don't see any case for criminal negligence here. That does not mean you don't have a case against them. But the reality here is that the school's lawyers will tie this up in courts if you try to pursue it. Either that or they will offer a small settlement to avoid the nuisance. I seriously doubt if you would ever see more than $25K from this and probably much less. But you should, by all means, consult an attorney. In a case like this you should get a free consultation.

But I do think you need to pursue this with the school to get assurances that they will tighten up their proceudres.

You have a legitimate grievance but it's probably not in your interest to pursue a suit. Instead, decide what you want from them in recompense and ask a lawyer to help you get it.
A letter of rebuke is reasonable. If there's the implied threat of a law suit and you ask for something specific, you are likely to get it.

Would you like a public letter of apology? Free aftercare for 6 months? Think about what would seem fair to you. But don't go overboard in your demands.

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Originally Posted by ScottGem

... distinction between negligence and criminal negligence. ...

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I don't see OP asking to put someone in jail. But OP seems to have this in mind: civil recovery for "emotional stress and trauma". And that, it seems to me, is not in the cards. Most jurisdictions don't allow that under facts such as these. OP might want to consult an attorney in the jurisdiction, but shouldn't get her hopes up.

You would have a case had your child been injured or killed. But since he was just temporarily "misplaced" within the actual school then you don't have any case.

My son when he was almost 5 was "kidnapped" out of our front yard by a 6 year old child and locked into this child's storage shed for over 4 hours in the South Florida heat. It was only after I drove 90MPH home from work and searched for him with the help of the Sheriff's office did we locate my son at this child's home. Had I not raced home and waited about one hour longer my son would not have survived this ordeal. The upshot of this was that the child could not be charged for the kidnapping and imprisonment of my son since he did not die. Had he died it would have been a different story.

As for your emotional stress and pain you need to calm down and face reality that nothing did happen to your son. Sorry. I don't see any big payday here for you as virtually nothing happened to your son. You are overreacting.

Have you had to see a psychatrist or therapist due to your "extreme anguish" and spend thousands of dollars on mental health professionals and be prescribed lots and lots of meds due to this? If no, then you definetely don't have a case. If yes, then possibly you may recover the costs incurred by seeking mental health help. Just being upset is NOT enough to sue over and win. You must show compensible damages to win. What are your damages, if any?