AboutDoctor Settlement Expertise 27 years of front line plaintiff`s trial lawyer experience in PERSONAL INJURY INSURANCE CLAIMS. Along with other attorneys and insurance adjusters, we have created a website to help injured people settle their own personal injury claims. With the help from feedback from hundreds of satisfied members, www.settlementcentral.com has become THE AUTHORITY for Internet personal injury insurance claim settlements. I am humbled and honored if people can benefit from my experience and current volunteer work in helping injured people. I hope I can explain things in a manner that is useful for the questioner. If not, do not hesitate to e-mail me and I will take a second shot at it! Best Wishes for your physical and financial recovery.
Experience
Life Experience: 27 years of front line plaintiff's trial lawyer experience
Organizations: American Trial Lawyers Association (AAJ)
Washington State Trial Lawyers Association
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Question My 13 year old son's arm was broken while playing during lunch break at school at the end of last school year. He wasn't playing in a rough manner, he simply just slipped and fell. There was a playground attendant on duty, but she did not check to see if he was okay. He continued with the rest of his school day, and not one adult asked him what was wrong with his arm. When he got home from school, his arm was swollen and purple, and it was immediately obvious to me that something was wrong. (He was holding his arm straight down to his side.) He explained to me what had happened and I took him right into the Emergency Room. His x-rays showed a radial fracture but because of the swelling, a cast could not be put on for several days.
My husband went to the school the following morning to talk with the principal and let her know what had happened and to also let the school know that he would not be in attendance until the cast could be put on. The principal said that she would talk to her staff and do an investigation. As of this date, we have heard nothing.
I called the Superintendent's office today to try to get a copy of the principal's report, and was told that I should just talk to the principal. I went into the school and was told by the principal that she didn't have a copy of the report and that I would have to get it from the nurse. The nurse was not available to speak with, but I was told that a copy would be mailed to me.
I understand that there is a delay from the date of injury to today, but we have been unable to get ahold of anyone due to summer vacation. My question is, what is the school's liability with regards to our medical expenses?
Answer Hi Kristine,
It is always very tough to see our children suffer, and so let's see your son as healed and restored to good health. I know that you are a caring Mom, so I am going to put in some extra time on your answer so you can better understand the legal situation.
Another thing that is tough for many to understand is why the schools are not liable for injuries on the premises. But fortunately we do have the tort system, which only makes an entity or person pay if their negligence caused the injury.
In this case, as you will see below, there likely is not going to be any ACTIONABLE negligence on the part of the school.
Hence, one would ask whether there is any medical insurance available. The school district might have insurance for medical costs irrespective of its fault. In other words, some businesses and governments can and do insure their patrons or visitors for limited medical costs, even if the injured person is at fault. The limits are going to be $5,000 per person or less. So you might ask about that.
Now, let's address the main issue: whether there is any actionable negligence.
#1. "My question is, what is the school's liability with regards to our medical expenses?"
ANSWER: I will answer with a question upon a question: why should the taxpayers pay one dime of your son's medical expenses? This question raises the next question: what precisely is it that you would have the school do differently—or, put another way, how was the school negligent in any way?
The taxpayers are not responsible for all accidents on the school yard. Why should they be? If a parent can show that inadequate supervision led to an injury, then there could be a case of negligence. For example, if the supervisor should have stopped a certain kind of play, but did not, and that kind of play would foreseeably lead to a risk to the participants, then there could be a case of negligence.
Maybe that is the situation here, but you do not say anything about the dangerous kind of play—only that your son "simply just slipped and fell".
Hence, unless there is a lot more to this than you state, one would not conclude that negligence caused the accident.
#2. Was there negligent delay that is actionable? You allege that some kind of delay on the part of the school caused some kind of suffering to your son. For example, you imply that if the school had acted sooner, the case would have been put on immediately.
While that may be true, what are the actual damages sustained? In other words, the defense attorney will ask: "so what"? He will admit some liability perhaps, but what were the actual damages sustained? Did the delay have any impact upon the eventual healing of the arm? Probably no doctor will say that.
"There was a playground attendant on duty, but she did not check to see if he was okay. He continued with the rest of his school day, and not one adult asked him what was wrong with his arm."
If your son was hurting, then why did HE not tell anyone? Every time someone falls the school is not going to send them to the nurse. It depends upon the age of your son.
So did your son suffer extra minutes or hours of pain because of the negligence of the school? Hard to say, since your son surely has the duty to make the complaint if his arm is hurting. At some age in life, babysitting has to end, and maybe your son has not yet reached that age, or maybe he is above it—you do not tell his age. For example, if this happened to a senior in high school, there would be no duty to inspect his arm or send him to the nurse. He will be responsible for getting his own care.
But what if your son were in the 2nd or 3rd grade? If that were the case, there could be a larger duty on the school to inquiry and check on his arm. So you can best answer that issue.
But even if they were negligent in not getting care sooner, is it "actionable"? That means is there sufficient liability and sufficient damages for someone to take on a claim? Absent some kind of medical opinion, the answer is "No". Surely no attorney would get involved with a case like this.
BUT that does NOT mean your son does not have a claim for general damages, i.e. pain and suffering. Maybe the delay in getting a cast on his arm caused him to suffer some extra pain. But that is a pretty thin basis to support a claim.
Hence, unless you answer any of the issues I raise above differently, I would focus on the goodness of all that happened. Thankful that he did not hit his head, and thankful that the arm healed properly. Thankful that he can again play that kind of game again.
So, bottom line, Kristine: get information on whether or not the school district has no-fault medical insurance. And don't panic if you do not get the report for a bit longer. Examine it and see if there is any hint of failure to perform a duty reelected therein. If so, that is your basis for a negligence claim. If not, as I suspect, then move on with your life.
Health insurance EXCEPTION: if you do not have medical insurance, then at the least you should go ahead and submit the medical bills to the school to request payment. And, of course, you could also thank the insurance industry (spending $1 Million per day on propaganda)—and the Fox so-called "news" conservative bloviators ( and their town hall robots)—who are conspiring to keep any hope of medical insurance from your family. [Note: sorry to let my prejudice surface, but I have a lifetime of experience versus insurance greed. Can you guess that Dr. Settlement has fought thousands of battles versus the abusive insurance industry?]
I trust that my extra time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the FEEDBACK FORM on this site and leave some feedback for me.
