What are my options if my child was injured at school?
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What are my options if my child was injured at school?
My child was injured at school he fell outside while playing basketball and broke his femur which required surgery. Here’s where I get a little upset He should of already been home off the school bus the time that it happened. He was on the bus and was made to get off because they were short a driver, they wanted to take a short route of kids home first and then my son would have been the second route. So while he was waiting he started to play basketball and that’s when he was injured. I got a phone call from the assistant principle saying that my so fell and he won’t get up. When I arrived at the school the nurse was there along with the principle and assistant principle. I stated to them do you think it’s broke because he has Osteogenesis imperfecta and the school nurse says Oh we didn’t know that and then she says when I touch the back of his leg he says it hurts. So I’m thinking maybe he hurt his groin muscle I figured a nurse should have been able to tell if it was broken. When we tried to get him up he screamed out in pain and we laid him back down and that’s when the assistant principle got behind him and and picked him up under his arms and put him in my truck with his legs dangling. By the time I got him to urgent care his leg was extremely swollen and his leg drew up 4 inches. They had to call and ambulance to pick him up from urgent care and he was in surgery the next day. I feel like this situation was handled all wrong.
Asked on March 15, 2018 under Personal Injury, South Carolina
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 6 years ago | Contributor
Prior to filing a lawsuit for negligence against the school district, it may be possible to settle the case with the school district's insurance carrier.
Notify the school district's insurance carrier in writing of your son's personal injury claim.
When your son completes his medical treatment and is released by the doctor or is declared by the doctor to be permanent and stationary, which means having reached a point in his medical treatment where no further improvement is anticipated, obtain his medical bills and medical reports. Your son's personal injury claim filed with the school district's insurance carrier should include those items.
Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. The medical reports document his injury and are used to determine compensation for pain and suffering which is an amount in addition to the medical bills.
If the case is settled with the school district's insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed.
If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the school district's insurance carrier, reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit for negligence against the school district. You will need to be appointed guardian ad litem to file a lawsuit on behalf of your son because he is a minor.
If the case is NOT settled, the lawsuit on behalf of your son against the school district for negligence, must be filed with the court prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or your son will lose his rights forever in the matter.
The school's negligence which is failure to exercise due care (that degree of care that a reasonable school would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm) is based on the following: not supervising your son while he was playing basketball on school grounds and the assistant principal picking up your son which may have exacerbated his injury instead of waitng for medical personnel, the nurse not being able to diagnose a broken leg. The school (school district) is liable for your son's injury even if it did not know of your son's medical condition (osteogenesis imperfecta).
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