Should I sue?

Question

My son got sliced by accident with a sword,when practicing swords with the teachers son, and the son sliced him by accident(his son did the wrong step). Do u think i should sue?But the teachers a good teacher and nice, and a friend.
Should i sue?
He's been in the hospital for 1 week(still is). And he needed a operation(s),lost alot of blood.
And the doctor says he would be in the hospital for at least 3 weeks.
Thanks

also my friend instists on sueing but i dont want too.....and the teacher gave me 100 dollars and apolgized alot.

Answer 1

Rather than suing, you should first check on whether the teacher has some kind of insurance that could help with your expenses. If this happened in a school or a home, there may be some kind of liability insurance. Even if you have health insurance, you may have deductibles you have to pay and you may be losing time at work or spending a lot traveling back and forth to the hospital. You should not have to bear this whole burden alone, and the teacher needs to take more responsibility for what his son did, even if it was an accident. Surgery and three weeks in the hospital mean this was quite a serious injury, and there may be ongoing complications. I'm usually not big on suing, but $100 is a pretty puny amount to settle for.

Answer 2

OK, personally, I would sue. Nice isn't going to pay that medical bill. Even though it was a mistake, the teacher should have offered you something for the injury. This is your son, I bet if your son had cut his/her's you'd get sued, or asked to pay that bill. Plus, he's going to be in the hospital for three weeks, it'll done been a month before he gets out. By all means, this is your child we're talking about here! The life of your child, and the protection of your child comes before nice, or anything. If the child had killed him, you would be furious, and if my child was in a hospital, I would still be furious. I'm not encouraging you to be mad or do things out of strife, I would never condone that, but I am looking at the fact of how much time you will miss with your child, he's in the hospital, the teacher didn't ask you did you want any help (according to what you wrote), and he lost A LOT OF BLOOD. Follow your heart, if you feel you should sue, then do that, but if you don't, then don't sue. In the end, no matter what I write to you, it's all up to you. Hope I've helped.

Answer 3

This is crazy. Give the teacher back his $100. Sit down with him and establish if he is covered by insurance. If he is, he can claim the whole thing on his insurance. No lawyers. No court. No loss of friends.

If he isn't covered by insurance, and you knew that your son was participating in sword fighting, then take the cost and move on. If someone plays football and breaks a bone, it's accepted that the sport carries the risk of that. Sword fighting carries a certain risk, and you should accept the responsablility of the decision that YOU made that it was ok.

If you did not approve that they use actual weapons or if the teacher did not follow proper safety procedures (it's irrelevant if it was the teacher's son, or a stranger who caused the injury), and his insurance does not pay out, then you have a case for a lawsuit. He claimed he was a professional trainer and put your son in danger and caused harm to your son, he should pay the medical costs.

Fit one of those three options to the case.

Answer 4

It has to be determined that there was negligence on the part of the teacher. I am sure that if the guy was reputable he had you sign a contract stating basically "hey were messing around with sharp objects and someone probably will get hurt eventually." If you didn't sign a formal contract or anything just by virtue of your son being an active participant in the sword play did you know there was the possibility of him getting hurt. Sorta like football where a parent knows that it is a full contact sport and that injuries are likely just because of the nature of the game. In short no.

Answer 5

Contrary to the belief of most people in the U.S. You don't need to sue someone to come to a settlement.

TALK with the teacher. Come to an equatable agreement. Get him to agree to pay for the hospital bill, or the deductable if there's such a thing on medical insurance. (Use the $100 you got towards the bill)

If you settle this in a friendly manner, you don't alienate anyone, and you can get your needs met.

Suing someone just makes lawyers rich, and turns friends against eachother.

Answer 6

well the fact that he gave you $100 dollars and apologized might stand up really well in court. he is admitting guilt, and would probably loose a case in court based on only what you said.

if he's a nice guy, and nobody did anything on purpose, then, i wouldn't. its true, its costing you alot of money, but the guy is obviously very remorseful. if your honestly having trouble paying for the medical bills, then tell him so. dont just take him to court. if he is really sorry, he might help you if he has the money.

ask the teacher if he could come and see your son in the hospital. if he truly is a nice guy, he will agree, and might understand more why he needs to pay your sons medical bills. morally, he does need to pay, but of one cant afford something, and he really is a nice guy, is it really worth ruining his life over something that happened entirely by accident?

Answer 7

That is what is wrong with the world, everyone is sue happy. It was an accident and I'm sure she feels terrible. Don't sue. I'm sure your insurance will take care all the expenses. I also don't understand why he would be in the hospital for 3 weeks. Even with major surgery, you're home sooner than that.

Answer 8

You always have the "right" to "sue". But whether you actually collect is another matter. This case, on the few facts you present, may be a tough one since it appears your son may have "assumed the risk" of sword fighting. If he is old enough to realize the danger then he is old enough to avoid swinging swords by his own choice.

If he realized the risk, I wouldn't see a jury or judge looking on his version of the accident favorably.

Answer 9

If you allowed him to practice with the sword you knew the consequences. Swords can be a dangerous thing to play around with. I dont think you have any right to sue, when you knew what could happen. It was an accident.

Answer 10

I think the teacher should cover the medical bills. He has Insurance through his homeowner's insurance.. It's called liability insurance... or at least pay your deductible for Your medical insurance. I'd ask him about it. If he seems uncooperative after you approach him for your deductible payments then I'd think about retaining an attorney. He should at least accept the liability for what his son did...regardless of whether he's a nice guy. Deductibles can run pretty high with long term hospitilazations.
Good look.. and a speedy recovery for your son.