What would you do if your 6 year old child broke their arm at school and you believe they were negligible?

Question

2:39pm (school ends 3:05pm) I received a call from the secretary at my child's school . They said that my child had fallen off the bottom of the slide and bruised their wrist. They were putting ice on it, and asked that I come pick my child up (my child goes to an after school program every day). I told them I was coming, and to tell my child I was on my way. I arrived 20 minutes later at 2:59pm. I went to the Office where I found my child sitting with a cardboard splint and a bag of ice wrapped in an ace bandage. My child was in allot of pain and told me that when going down the slide during PE class with two teachers present, 3 children were playing a game blocking the slide and not let anyone down. 2 of the children proceeded to push my child off the side of the slide from about 6' up falling hands out. We went home. I gave my child Tylenol and then fell asleep in about 3 minutes. An hour later awoke crying in pain. Went to hospital. Found buckle fracture. Orthopedic visits next.

Answer 1

While you already believe the teachers were not doing their job, you may need a bit more information to get a good plan of action. Your real goal is probably to make the school a better place for your child - and the larger community.

Have you talked with the teachers and maybe the principal? You can expect them to be cautious but you will likely learn more than you did from the secretary.

You might ask questions like these.

How many teachers were in the immediate area?

How many could reasonably see the slide and how many were within the range of their voice of the slide?

How many kids were these teachers supervising?

It is common for one teacher to supervise two classrooms of students or more, at least for a short period of time. You really do not have much control over a six year old that is out of voice range.

Is is a practice to grade papers or plan lessons while trying to supervise students?

Were the teachers engaged in a conversation with each other or were they up and walking the playground, building relationships with the students?

Is there anything you can do as a partner with these professionals, to make the school a little safer?

Have they changed any playground practices as a result of this accident?

Just asking these questions of the principal and teachers, and taking the time to listen and thoughtfully dialog will tend to focus the school on safety and decrease the probability that this happens to another student. Most teachers love kids and feel pretty bad when one is injured.

If you are not satisfied at the school, you can lodge a complaint at the district office or seek legal advice.

Answer 2

When I was in the third grade I was playing King of the Hill. There was a mound of dirt near our playground at school - about four feet tall at its peak. Basically the game goes.... one kid tries to stay on top while everyone else tries to take them down. I was winning for a while. I ended up fracturing my wrist. The thing is that I didnt even tell my teacher. It happened at the very end of the day. I was an independent child so telling my teacher didnt really occur to me. Thinking back thats kind of weird... I guess I thought I would get into trouble or something. My point is that when kids play, stuff happens. Personally I think we are getting too overprotective of our kids and dont let kids be kids anymore.

With that said.... there are limits. If teachers sat there and watched multiple kids get pushed off the top of a six foot slide, that is negligence. If your kid was the only one, it probably happened in a split second and the teachers had no way of knowing it would happen or if that child who push your kid would do that. Usually when kids play "blocking the slide" they block the slide at the end which is a foot from the ground. Can injuries occur?...sure. Injuries can happen any where on a playground. The swings can put your kid up in the air six or more feet. I guess we need to take all swings out because kids may get hurt.... give me a break!!

With all that said, I'd still go to the school and get all of the information about the situation because you never know.... the teachers may have not been doing their jobs. Just be open minded and realistic about childhood playtime. If there is negligence it doesnt always mean you need to get a lawyer. Thats the problem with this country... something goes wrong and people look for money. I'd be happy with a teacher being disciplined and if that didnt happen then I would take it to court.... if there was negligence.

CounselorDan

Answer 3

I think you would have to know more to know if it was neglect or not. Where were the teachers standing? If they were all together talking and not watching the children then yes it could be neglect. If there were not enough teachers to adequately supervise, then it could be neglect. However if the teacher told the other children to stop and they did not, then its the fault of the children. Teachers do not have ultimate control over children.

That being said I think you should find out what was really going on. Many schools have cameras so you can see what happened rather than dig for the truth. Also I think you have to take into account that children do sometimes play rough and accidents that are beyond anyone's control do happen.

If you have a case, fine. But dont get sue happy.

Answer 4

So you are saying there were two six foot tall elementary school students that managed to push your daughter off a slide? Seems a little far fetched.
Remember you weren't there. You do not have all the facts as of yet.

Reality check here: Children were playing on the slide, children play blocking the slide every single day, no elementary school child is tall enough to reach the 6 foot high section of the slide, an elementary aged child made a bad judgment decision to push your daughter (a moment that may have occurred in a split second even right in front of a teacher) and your daugher fell and regretfully sustained an injury.
That's not negligience that's called childhood.
Kids fall, kids get hurt - that's LIFE.

Answer 5

My son broke his arm at school, on the playground, during a time when he was supposed to be in an after-school program to receive additional help with his school work. There were teachers present, but the reality of the situation is two teachers cannot watch every student every single minute. I would certainly let the school know of your concerns, and talk to your child. Find out the details, from her perspective, and speak to the teachers who were supervising the children. Gather all the facts, then decide if you should take further action. I hope your child is feeling better.

Answer 6

Do you mean negligent? No I think accidents happen every day through through no fault of anyone in particular.Children get scrapes, bruises and yes even breaks in the safety of their home under the supervision of their parents.Children are curious and adventuresome and do not understand what danger or risk mean.It takes only seconds for playful fun to turn into an accident, even under the watchful eye of a parent.Everything is not a lawsuit.In all fairness to the school staff, they are not medically trained and will only have first aid training.They didn't ignore the problem, they treated it and called you.My sister fell from a standing position on a slight grade and got a greenstick fracture, my brother was playing Tarzan on a rope swing and broke his arm and my mother broke her wrist when she stumbled minigolf (she had the misfortune of landing wrong).Were these lawsuits, no , just unfortunate accidents.

Answer 7

You can attempt to press charges against the school, but in most cases it is a waste of money and you won't win. They can not be held responsible for the actions of every child. Children play & children get hurt that's what happens. I feel bad for your child though. You should find out who the children blocking the slide were and mention it to the school so that they can investigate and another kid doesn't end up in a sling like yours.

Answer 8

I wouldn't say that it was a negligible school. Yes, they were watching, but the children were playing. If they were negligible, they could've told your child to quit acting like a baby it was nothing.
I was in 4th grade. I jumped off the swing, and my finger was still caught in the chain. That's exactly what they said to me. They gave me ice even though I had gone straight to the nurse and my finger was twice the size and purple. They didn't call my family...they made me stay at school.
I had broken, sprained, twisted, pulled, and jammed that finger with one jump...it has not grown AT ALL since 4th grade. At least I have small hands otherwise...you can't tell.

Answer 9

I agree with the guythat said stop looking for money, it really is people like you thta make this country a wreck. All you ever hear about is lawsuits and bull sh*t about these stupid little injuries. We are all human these things happen, you think it's the schools fault that your kid had a little accident, it's not they were nice enough to help him out by giving him ice and a splint. Instead of playing the blame game you should try to think positive.

Answer 10

the school rang you and they treated him. Yes teachers were present but accidents happen in an instant so I would not blame the school but I would however talk to the principal about the children who pushed him getting punished. They need to learn to think before they act.. Hope your son heals well and is back to playing soon