My brother broke his arm at school, should my parents sue them?!
Question: Yesterday, at 11am my brother broke his arm when he was doing high jump. They made the pole really high so he flipped over it and apparently his arm landed on the ground while the rest of his body landed on the mats provided. His friends tell me he was crying and screaming in agony, as if he was in hell. The teacher took him straight to the nurse and the nurse put some ice on his arm and called my parents. then my parents took him to the doctor and x-ray shows that both the bones on his left arm are broken into two, my parents went to the best hospital in the area and the doctors wanted $8000 for it. It doesn't accept the insurance we've got because it's a private hospital. The public hospitals wanted to perform operations but that's kind of scary. My brother's 11. The nurse is really nice but the principal didn't even bother about anything. When my parents got there my brother was still crying on the sickbed while the nurse pressed the ice to his broken arm.
Answers: Yesterday, at 11am my brother broke his arm when he was doing high jump. They made the pole really high so he flipped over it and apparently his arm landed on the ground while the rest of his body landed on the mats provided. His friends tell me he was crying and screaming in agony, as if he was in hell. The teacher took him straight to the nurse and the nurse put some ice on his arm and called my parents. then my parents took him to the doctor and x-ray shows that both the bones on his left arm are broken into two, my parents went to the best hospital in the area and the doctors wanted $8000 for it. It doesn't accept the insurance we've got because it's a private hospital. The public hospitals wanted to perform operations but that's kind of scary. My brother's 11. The nurse is really nice but the principal didn't even bother about anything. When my parents got there my brother was still crying on the sickbed while the nurse pressed the ice to his broken arm.
First, make sure that your parents know that the schools insurance is the one that has to pay the medical bills, not them. My son broke his arm last year at school and no one told me this, now it is too late. I paid all the co-pays and stuff, and only recently found out I should have turned this in to the school. Have them address this with the school as soon as possible. They only have a certain amount of time to turn the bills in.
While things like this do happen, the school has a duty to protect the children from injury during class. If the area was not safe for the activity they were doing, there may be a case for negligence. It's not like your brother tripped over his own feet running down the hall. He was in a class that is required by law for him to participate in.
The school should have called an ambulance. Period. If I were your parents, I would seek legal counsel.
Don't let the people who say "we hate people like you who are lawsuit happy" bother you. We have a legal system for a reason. Yes, we are a lawsuit happy nation. But this isn't hot coffee that your brother ordered at McDonalds. He was forced to participate in a school activity and he was not given the proper protection he should have been to prevent injury. I would definitely seek legal counsel.
I don't know about the issue of a private hospital. Typically with a break like that, there is often a surgery because when both the ulna and the radius break, flesh can get trapped between the bones and it is hard to set without putting steel rods in. Your parents may have to pay the difference between what a public hospital would charge, and what the private hospital charges as it was their choice to go there.
You learn fast, kid. It`s sad.
No the school was not at fault. Activities like that come with certain risk. Your parents should take him to the hospital that accepts their insurance. I'm sure he wil be fine.
Is it really worth it?
No. I hate people like your parents. they should have gone to the public hostpital.
Tell your parents to grow up, because these things happen in life and everyone has to take responsibility for themselves. I'm sure your parents had to sign some forms before your brother was allowed to do high jumps in the first place. Whoever the teacher is, he surely knows what the usual safety requirements are, and he can't be expected to predict every possible thing that could go wrong. His pain and suffering have nothing to do with it. That's just life. Having pins put in your arm when you break both ulna and radius is perfectly normal.
Why is the first question when something like this happens "Should I sue?" If I sued everytime I got hurt, I would be a millionaire. Crying out loud, I was jumped and stabbed in the abdomen, and I didn't get anything but PTSD and chronic pain. Don't forget, lawsuits take a tremendous amount of time (years and years with no guarantee of anything) and money to follow through. You just don't say "I'm suing you" and get tons of money.
You can't sue the school- it's an accident and they had all the proper equipment and teachers there and everything, plus they are not held liable for anything anyway. It's your parents mistake to take him to a hospital where your insurance is not accepted. That's your problem, and everyone should know that you call and verify benefits when anything like that happens.
Maybe your brother just shouldn't do high jumps anymore, either. He's a kid, accidents happen, you get over it, it's all good later.
Hello. There is one thing i cannot understand as i am from Australia i guess. I have been watching t.v and as soon as something happens all people want to do is just sue others. It was a school accident. That happens in life and i do not see the point in going thru court for every little thing as it does not happen here at all and i am glad. Hope your brother gets better quick and gets back into his high jumping. Least one thing the school done everything they should have and i do not see a case anyway. Take care.
The reason you have medical insurance is to use it when it is needed. Why did your parents take him to a hospital that does not accept your plan? That was their mistake. If they cannot pay the $8000.00 have them ask the hospital to put them on a payment plan of monthly payments. Kids get hurt everyday and as parents you have to expect it and plan for it. Your parents did some planning by having insurance. Too bad they learned later isn't what they wanted.