Hi IM's.
Four months ago my son fell from the play equipment at school and broke his arm. The break was severe and required surgery to insert wires, followed by a full arm cast four four weeks, then more surgery to remove the wires.
The accident happened about 15 minutes before school pick up, and when I arrived at school I was told that he had had a little fall and was "feeling a bit sorry for himself". As soon as I saw my son I knew something was wrong, and when I went to touch his arm it was like there was a tennis ball on his elbow (where he broke it). Turns out he fell from the very top of a climbing gym.
I immediately took him to the hospital where we were admitted for surgery. They also did a full head and chest examination as he fell from a height, and expressed their surprise that the school didn't call an ambulance due to the nature of the fall.
The next day while my son was in theatre I called the school and spoke to the principal to update him on the situation and advise that my son wouldn't be at school for the rest of the week. Turns out he knew nothing about the accident and when I explained what happened he said that my son shouldn't have been on that particular piece of equipment as it is out of bounds for his age group.
I wasn't calling to place blame or point fingers, as I understand that accidents happen. I was just calling to let the school know of our situation. The principal however couldn't get off the phone quick enough, and he said that he would need to investigate and get back to me. Four months later I'm still waiting to hear from him. He even gives me a bit of a wide berth when he sees me at school.
Tomorrow we are going back into hospital for another round of surgery, this time to insert screws as the break did not heal sufficiently. This will require more time off school (so far we've had two weeks injury related absence), as well as a full arm cast again etc. We will also need to have constant reviews over the coming years to ensure that his arm is growing correctly.
My son is five years old.
Have any other mums had their kids suffer injuries at school that required constant follow up with specialists and surgeons etc? How did you approach the school to cover the out of pocket expenses?
I am not looking to sue as I know that kids will be kids and accidents happen. I just want to make sure that my son receives the care he requires, and that the school understands the severity of the issue. While my son's teacher has been great, I'm very disappointed with the lack of response from the principal.
Appreciate your advice.
7 Replies
Oh wow if I was you if be going nuts over this!
Yes accidents happen but if be asking firstly why your son was able to access and 'out of bounds' play area without any teachers noticing
And then why the principal hasn't followed up with you.
This is unacceptable.
From what I know all schools are covered under an education insurance policy which you would be entitled to claim against to cover the cost of your time off work with looking after him and tutoring he may need to stay up to date with what he's missed.
I would definately be making an appointment with the school and asking more questions on what's hppened and how and what they are doing toake sure it doesn't happen again
I have been at a very similar incident where the teacher told the child to sit down for abit, it took about fifteen minutes to realise somethings wrong, send him to office and eventually hospital where his arm was badly broken. His parents were furious of course. But i was there and would have given my own kids the same treatment. The teacher of course felt absolutely horrified, but also gobsmacked at how there was really no indication.
It sounds like you have an unresolved issue with the school. You havent received the attention and care this issue deserves.
Perhaps write down all of your unanswered questions and make an appointment with the principal to get it sorted.
Sounds like you want details about how and why he was there. How this will b prevented in the future (if he wasn t supposed to be there, theres not much else they can do)
Why he wasnt given attention sooner.
And what you are entitled to claim from the schools insurance.
Agree with this .
Approach the principal for follow up . Tell him your concerned that you haven't heard back and put in writing about your concerns . If again he isn't helpful and not responsive then I'd be talking to the dept of education . This is the kind of stuff principals should be diligent about following up and investigating ! He should have done a full incident report by now !! It's part of their job and if he hadn't done it then maybe he's not doing other things he should be either ?
Sorry for your son ! It sounds like an awful situation !
3 words
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
This is not acceptable. They have a duty of care to it's students and they have failed miserably.
Tell the principal if he doesn't pull his head in and give you the attention you deserve in this matter you're going to contact the regional office. Follow on and contact them.
Disgusting.
I'd be absolutely fuming!
PS: I'm a teacher. Lucky this is anonymous huh...
You should definitely sue. Your son will live with the pain from this fall for the rest of his life!!
My sister slipped and fell at a restaurant, they had just gotten polished concrete there and the surface was not up to standard. She went to court and ended up getting $150,000.
Sure, that sounds great but her arm which broke is in excruciating pain, she will be on meds for the rest of her life. She is on light duties at work, can't work out like she used to and her hand writing is shocking. This happened 5 years ago and her quality of life is still affected. He is only 5 and you're talking about him needing follow up appointments for years to come!
You have no way of telling how much this is going to hold him back. How much school he is missing, the sports he won't be able to play because of the pain.
You can't let these lazy people who let your baby get hurt get away with this. If supervising children is too much for them then they're in the wrong job ?
Get some legal advice and get your baby the compensation he may need to not be disadvantaged! This isn't about you or them, your son has to live with this injury through no fault of his own.
I have found unless they are getting up you, they will avoid you. I am at the point of serving them with papers to get information I am entitled too. I was getting a call a week when they THOUGHT I was wrong but now I want them to do their job and they are at fault they are avoiding me. My child was kicked in the face and they acted as if it was a fall and small lump. Document it and ONLY email if you cannot record the convo. Don't trust them at all!