Accidents at School

[wdmmom]

Around noon today I got a phone call from the school nurse. (You know...the one where she tells you she has your child in her office.) Much to my surprise, she wasn't calling because of illness. She was calling because my daughter got hurt while at recess. (This isn't the first time either.)

I can hear her sobbing in the background, which leads me to believe the injuries are more substancial than what the nurse is leading up to.

The nurse tells me that my daughter "fell" while at recess and hit her mouth losing a tooth. (No big deal...it was loose anyway.)

What she didn't tell me was that she fell on cement. She had concrete burn from her nose, clear down to her chin! She has 2 fat lips AND she broke her permanent tooth in half!

Now normally I'm not the type of mom to go lashing out at the school but when I asked the nurse what happened...of course the supervisors didn't see anything and they have no idea. My daughter says she was pushed by a boy in another class yet "no one" seen it.

I'm looking at up to $1,000 in dental work that won't be covered because she has met her maximum benefit already and with having our garage catch fire 2 weeks ago, we really can't afford this!

I'm so irritated with the school for not providing the supervision they should have, for them not having answers, and for the school nurse not giving me the truth about the extent of her injuries!

I understand kids will be kids but at the same time, I don't hear about this type of thing happening to other kids. This is the 2nd time in 1 year that she has been pushed and got some type of facial injury...this injury being far more severe.

What would you do?

[familyschoolcare]

What grade is the child in?

Is this a public or provate school?

[Heidi]

Well, if your school is anything like any school my children have been to, the playground monitors were standing in the middle of the fray chit-chatting while the little citizens ran amok!

I don't have any real advice. sorry! MY son lost a 1/2 tooth last year on the ice, on the school playground. Empathy comming your way....

[daycare]

Several years ago my two older where in Grade school at the time. My daughter insisted on playing with get older brother at recess.

They were playing ball against a wall, along with a few other boys.

My own son hit his sister in the back of the head with the ball,she knocks her face into the wall chipping her two front teeth that just came in.

Cost us a ton..

She's 13 now and just had to replace them again and since it's cosmetic it's not covered by my insurance. She chipped them this time butting into an apple..... Ugh.

[Meyou]

Oh I would be ripping someone a new one! Not because it happened but because they downplayed it so much. Your poor dd.

[Kaddidle Care]

Contact your Board of Education regarding the extra $$ needed to pay the Dentist.

They may be able to help you if they put in an insurance claim.

Don't let it go, contact them immediately.

Poor kid.

[SilverSabre25]

Unfortunately it is this exact kind of thing that is causing so many school to eliminate recess entirely, or to bubble wrap it so much that the kids can't do much of anything.

I'm sorry your DD got hurt, and I'm sorry that the nurse downplayed it; she should have told you exactly what all the injuries were.

The most I would think you could do to/with the school is to go talk to the principal and have them talk to the boy who pushed her and punish him in some way. Other than that, I don't think you're going to get anything from them...and really, I'm not sure you should. You do daycare, you know how hard it is to watch EVERY child EVERY minute. Now remember that the schools have one or two monitors for the entire playground of children...that's a high adult-to-child ratio and injuries happen.

I know you're angry and upset that this happened, but I think your reaction of "they should have been watching" is a little extreme--these aren't two year olds, they are school agers, who have the ability to tell what happened and who was involved.

[wdmmom]

This is public school and my daughter is in 1st grade!

The only information I could get was that there were 4 supervisors on the playground and approximately 60 children. Even at a 1 to 15 ratio, it's pretty ridiculous that not a one of them seen it happen!

AND...

I do provide daycare and I guarantee that if one of my daycare kids were to get hurt or fall and chip a tooth, I'd be liable for paying for it!

[Crystal]

I too am sorry for your daughter, OUCH!

On the other hand, I agree with Silver.....stuff happens. It COULD happen at daycare....and I think a 1 to 15 ratio makes it quite probable that none of the adults would see it happen. I would not want a parent coming after me because I did not see an accident on the playground....and even if I had seen it, probably could not have prevented the injury anyway. And, generally, NO, you would not be held liable for the cost, unless they sued you, and even then they would have to prove negligence on your part.

I know here in Cali. we have to sign a document at the beginning of every school year that states the school is not liable for accidents of this nature. If it is something caused due to sheer negligence on the school's part then we can request or sue for compensation, but general accidents are not covered by school insurance.

[Blackcat31]

I too am sorry for your daughter, OUCH!

On the other hand, I agree with Silver.....stuff happens. It COULD happen at daycare....and I think a 1 to 15 ratio makes it quite probable that none of the adults would see it happen. I would not want a parent coming after me because I did not see an accident on the playground....and even if I had seen it, probably could not have prevented the injury anyway. And, generally, NO, you would not be held liable for the cost, unless they sued you, and even then they would have to prove negligence on your part.

I know here in Cali. we have to sign a document at the beginning of every school year that states the school is not liable for accidents of this nature. If it is something caused due to sheer negligence on the school's part then we can request or sue for compensation, but general accidents are not covered by school insurance.

Our school is the same way except we were offered additional insurance coverage for things like this that can and do happen while at school. You can take the additional insurance (for a cost) or sign off on it and not have any, our choice.

A similar thing happened to my DD when she was in 3rd grade. She got hit in the face with a hard hockey puck (which were not allowed on the palyground) and since we had declined the additional insurance and had signed the waiver the school gave us, the cost fell on us.

It does ****, but what do you do? Unless you can prove negligence on someone's part, it falls on you to cover.

On a side note, I also had a dcb (age 5) break his arm here last fall. I was not held liable and didn't have to cover any costs involved because it was an accident and the parents had full medical coverage.

But, any liabilities and cost issues aside, (((HUGS))) that your DD got hurt and you are going through this.....I hope she is okay and feels better soon!

[wdmmom]

I know that some schools make you sign a waiver and offer other insurance. My kids have gone to this school for 4 years and I have yet to see any paperwork come home or offered during registration for accident insurance.

Just irritates me even more that I have to come up with $1000 deductible for our fire and now up to another $1000 for dental reconstruction and Christmas is right around the corner. UGH!

I have a call into the school so hopefully the associate principal will contact me sometime today.

Thank you for everyone's thoughts and concerns. DD is home with me today. She's still struggling with eating and she's still pretty swollen so I thought it'd be good to keep her home with her mommy today.

[Blackcat31]

I know that some schools make you sign a waiver and offer other insurance. My kids have gone to this school for 4 years and I have yet to see any paperwork come home or offered during registration for accident insurance.

Just irritates me even more that I have to come up with $1000 deductible for our fire and now up to another $1000 for dental reconstruction and Christmas is right around the corner. UGH!

I have a call into the school so hopefully the associate principal will contact me sometime today.

Thank you for everyone's thoughts and concerns. DD is home with me today. She's still struggling with eating and she's still pretty swollen so I thought it'd be good to keep her home with her mommy today.

Does the school by any chance have video cameras for the playground?

Also if your DD can identify the culprit, has the school even talked to them? I would think they were playing near others or perhaps with friends so there are supporters of your DD version of what happened.

I would hope that maybe if there are collaborating stories, the "pusher's" family could be held responsible for part of your deductible.

[wdmmom]

There is no deductible. The maximum dental benefit for her insurance is $1000 per year. She's met $900 of that so anything beyond $100 is my financial responsibility.

There are cameras and I know they are on after-hours but I'm not sure if they remain on during school hours. Waiting on a call back from the school.

Someone had to have seen what happened...whether it be a group of kids or not.

I know she's my kid and she's my responsibility...I get that. I understand as much. I also know that if a neighborhood kid was playing basketball in our driveway and he got a tooth knocked out, I can bet my behind that the neighbor would want my homeowners insurance information!

[Crystal]

when does your "year" of coverage end? If it is a first of the year thing, perhaps it can wait until then? Of course, I would only suggest that if it IS something that can wait.

[wdmmom]

when does your "year" of coverage end? If it is a first of the year thing, perhaps it can wait until then? Of course, I would only suggest that if it IS something that can wait.

We thought about that too. Unfortunately with the permanent tooth being exposed, the dentist recommends getting it repaired as soon as the swelling goes down.

I talked to the assistant principal. Of course, she expressed her concern and said that DD tripped on the sidewalk. I mentioned to her that if this sidewalk is broken or has an area that is jarred, it should be their responsibility of fixing it. She said she'd look into it and see if it was but pretty much denied any liability.

My question is...If a random person falls on my broken sidewalk, I (being the homeowner) am responsible for all common areas including the sidewalk. That's why the city goes around and inspects. If your walkway doesn't pass inspection, you are required to bring it up to code.

Shouldn't the school be held to the same standard?