Who Would Be Responsible?

[momofboys]

I have this new little boy who is having a hard time listening to me and he gets into everything like a toddler would. But when I tell him no he continues on like I was talking to the wall. So while I start lunch for the children, I put up a gate as it's cooking I get them one by one and put then in their seat and color while we wait since I am afraid this kid is going to reach up and burn himself.

Well last week I went to go get one of the children from behind the gate and I tripped and pinned one of the kids that was attached to the gate crying because she wanted out. She hit her head and had a cut on her head. Naturally I called 911. They came and told me that they were going to transport us to the ER. Everything ended up being fine thank goodness.


But this morning her father dropped off and asked if his wife gave me the bill for the ambulance. It's only a 100 he said. But am I wrong to think I should not be responsible for that. A few people seem to think not. I will pay it if I have to, but I am also peeved at the fact that I have been walked all over by this family. They owe me over 1200, so how are they going to give me a bill for this.

I would tell the family you will deduct the $100 bill from their bill that they owe you. You need to set this family straight & I would immediately tell them they need to be caught up by X date or you will not be able to care for their child any longer.

[PAMommy1228]

Yes I have to agree with you. You are too nice ::. I would give her a notice/invoice of what is owed to you (and deduct the $100 if it's what you feel you should do) and then have a sit-down with her and talk to her about the money issue, talk about how she was supposed to have it paid by the summer and it still hasn't been paid. Negotiate a payment plan for this to get paid off. Start by you telling her you want her to pay an extra $X amount of dollars a week and see what she says. If she doesn't want to cooperate with you tell her that you have received multiple calls for a spot that her child has and that if you don't worl out a solution to have the balance paid that you will be forced to replace her child. Reassure her that you don't want to do that (if you really don't want to terminate her) and would rather work with her instead but you need a commitement from her to pay what is owed to you for services that you have given them. Hand her the written notice/invoice which says exactly what you have covered with her verbally and then take out a pad of paper and a pen and draw up a payment plan contract and have her sign it. Don't give her more than a day to think about it as it will only postpone you getting your money.

This is about what my husband said to do since we have a standing relationship. Our daughters go to the same school, and they are also in Girl Scouts together. I didn't know her before I started watching her middle child, but our children have grown close. I am going to draw up an invoice today and tell her I need it paid by the end of the year so we can start with a clean slate for the new year.

[Chickenhauler]

Why is it different with a home provider than with a center. My son was injured in a daycare center when he was 3, and we were called, took him in and was charged an emergency visit, and there was never any question about who paid....I did. The center never brought it up, never asked a question, nothing. They obviously did not hold themself accountable for any of the expenses.

Every contract, and every situation, is a little different, and results in different outcomes/degrees of liability.

In this case, she (the provider) tripped and fell on the child/gate. If I stumble or trip and put a big dent in your car with my noggin, would you willingly pick up the tab, or expect me to?

Now, had the child fallen down on their own accord, that would be an entirely different thing.

[TomCopeland]

Liability/Contract

There are several issues raised in this thread I'd like to address.

First - Regardless of what you put in your contract about a provider not being liable for injuries to a child, this won't hold up in court. A parent can't give up her right to sue you. Besides, the child could always sue you. So, I would take out all such liability waivers from your contract.

Second - If a child is injured in your program, you are going to be held liable for the injury because you were the responsible adult. So, if the parent sued you for the ambulance fee you would be held liable. If the parent or the parent's health insurance company sued you for the child's medical expenses you would be held liable. Someone made a comment in this thread about a center not paying for an emergency visit by a child. Just because the center didn't offer to pay doesn't mean they were liable for the child's injury. If you had sued them you would have won. The center didn't speak up because they were hoping you would pay without complaining.

Third - Calling a parent before calling 911 can be a problem. We had a recent case in Minnesota where a 4 year old choked on a whole grape at a child care center and died. The center staff first called the parent and then 2 minutes later called 911. The center was sued and found liable for not calling 911 first. In this situation the child was obviously in peril whereas your situation was not life threatening. If there is anything approaching a life threatening situation you should not hesitate to call 911 first.

Fourth - All providers should have business liability insurance to protect themselves in this situation. You should not pay a parent voluntarily without checking first with your liability insurance agent. Paying the $100 ambulance bill could create a problem later if the parent decided to sue you for a lot of money because of health complications later on. Your payment would be considered a sign of admission of responsibility. (Yes, you are responsible, but paying voluntarily just complicates the issue against you later.) Whenever there is an injury in your program you should always contact your liability insurance agent to report it. They may want to do their own investigation. This can be extremely important later on if there is a lawsuit since this investigation can be helpful in reducing your liability risk.

I would treat the $100 ambulance bill as separate from what the parent owes you. In other words, I wouldn't reduce their bill by $100. The reason is that you don't want to do anything that might make the parent mad after their child was injured. It could lead to them making complaints against you to your licensor or try to sue you for medical expenses and more. I know that the parent owes you a lot. You should take them to court for this, if they refuse to pay. I would be somewhat careful about enforcing this until this injury issue is resolved.

So - if you have liability insurance, contact the insurance company and follow their advice about paying the ambulance bill. If you don't have insurance, pay the bill.

Tom