Has Anyone Filed an Injury Claim with a Schools Liability Insurance?

You should go straight to the principal of the school and/or the superintendent of the district and ask them how to go about filing a claim.

The school's liability policy should cover your out-of-pocket expenses. I know that for PTA events, we carry a $1M policy to cover any accidents or injuries that happen at our events and this is in addition to the school district's coverage.

I would absolutely go to the principal and tell him that you are now incurring thousands of dollars in out of pocket expenses and would like to file a claim with the school district to have them cover those expenses, and then see what happens. I haven't had to do this, but it's not unheard of.

I have no idea why people are climbing all over you here. This is not just "life" - it's an injury on school grounds during a normal, sanctioned, supervised (supposedly) activity. I understand you are not trying to get more money, just make up your expenses. Perfectly reasonable.

My son was injured on the playground - there was a utility hole cover that was raised up a few inches, he dripped, sprained his back and leg, and needed to see the doctor and have crutches.

The school sent me a form before I even had a change to inquire about it. All his expenses (above our medical insurance) were covered with no question and no threats on our part. I sent the bills and receipts in and got a check pretty quickly (maybe 30 days, I don't remember). I honestly don't recall if I put in for something I already had in the house (like tylenol). However, I think $100 in bandages & dressing changes for a burn would absolutely be covered by the school, as well as all the urgent care and other visits within your deductible.

My neighbor's daughter had a very serious accident on defective playground equipment, and she will be permanently disabled. There situation is, obviously, way more complicated than mine (as your is), and while I think it can get a bit adversarial, there absolutely is school insurance coverage. A report has been filed, so there is no urgency right now for the hospital bills, just for the out-of-pocket supplies that you have to lay out the cash for.

I would talk to the school about what the process is (which may be done at the district office rather than the individual school). Get a copy of whatever reports have already been generated, and don't sign anything until you have a chance to go through everything. Talk to the urgent care billing office and let them know it's due to an accident at the school, and find out what your process should be. Tell them you aren't ignoring the bills but that the coverage should be through a third party. Also contact your medical insurer to see if they have any sort of advocate for policy holders. They definitely are interested in seeing who else might have to cover things!

We did not use an attorney, but if you feel you want to consult someone, have your family attorney refer you to a personal injury attorney. The consult will be free. I don't know if you will have ongoing fees for your son's continuing medical care - for example, a burn may require immediate care but also plastic surgery later on. (I'm not saying it will, just that you have to allow for that possibility.) If there's any question about your son being covered down the road, you may need some extra protection. However, schools are very invested in keeping costs to a minimum, which means they will want to pay his basic costs instead of getting into hefty fees for pain and suffering. Because of the size of the bills and perhaps the continuing care he may require, you MAY want to consult an attorney to get full protection. That's why you should sign off on anything from the school that says you are agreeing that there is no further expense involve sand that their obligation has been met.

I am so sorry for what your son is going through. Mine was pretty miserable with back and ankle pain for about 4 days, and that's a fraction of what your son is going through.

Ask the Principal how the matter of medical bills should be handled. They will have to go thru their legal channels of course. Just because they admit to negligence now doesn't mean their counsel will. So be prepared to have to legal up.

Let us know the outcome, good luck

Talk to the principal. I once new a woman whose daughter was injured in a science class because the teacher did not check the flame on the burner. The girl got a 2nd degree burn when the glass cracked. The principal gave her the papers to complete and it went from there.

Wow! Sadie, in NO WAY is this the parent of the other child's responsibility. They were not there, they had turned the care of their child to the school for the day. This was a pure accident. I am so very bothered that you think this. It makes me want to keep my kids far away from anybody anywhere so that they can't do anything that I won't be able to afford. The school should pay the medical bills because they are so high. They were responsible for the kids, and they made a misjudgment.

J., I am so sorry for your little boy! I had a bad burn when I was a baby, which thankfully, I can't remember, but the stories my mom tells me are heartbreaking. She had to take me to the hospital to be debrided daily too, and then she had to do it at home too. I will say that I have absolutely no scars now. So, it is worth it. I am sending blessing thoughts to him and you because you need it!

Call and make an appointment with the superintendent of your school district. Calmly tell him the facts, bring the receipts from the urgent care visits, prescriptions, etc. If he has been referred to a wound care surgeon this sounds serious. I am guessing the superintendent will offer to cover the deductible expenses if he feels the school was indeed at fault. It will be cheaper for them to do that than worry that you may change your mind & get an attorney who would talk you into a lawsuit.

I would definitely talk to the school. I know Girl Scouts have insurance that covers all registered girls and adults in our council during ANY Girl Scout-oriented event (whether it's a council-run event or even just a regular troop meeting). I'm the town registrar and it's a BIG reason we push that all girls must be registered before the new year begins in October - if they aren't members and something happens then they aren't covered.

I think especially since you seem to be able to stay relatively calm about it and can assure them you aren't looking to sue - just help for the medical bills.

And I'm right there with you on the high deductible pain. I know in my head we ultimately come out better with that option, but oy the pain! when those bills come in. Good luck!

Thats a difficult question. Talking to an attorney, they will want you to sue. Talking to your insurance company, they will refuse to pay based on the school's liability. I would try calling the school and talking to them to begin with. They know there was an agregious error on their part, and they likely filled out an injury report. Maybe they have some kind of ombudsman for the district you can speak with?

In any case, I wouldn't drop it. You don't sound like you're looking for a payday, you just don't want to pay for a costly mistake made by a teacher. FWIW, you are way more calm than I would be if my son or daughter was a victim of negligence that resulted in an injury like you described.

I strongly suggest contacting your insurance company, & getting a consult with an attorney. This type of thing happens all the time, when I used to do hospital billing, we had to deal with claims being held up because the insurance company would deny, stating that another party was liable.

It's similar to if someone falls in a grocery store because they didn't maintain their facility properly - the store would be at fault & would be responsible for the medical bills. Or if you were involved in an auto accident caused by someone else - their insurance would take the liability.

I don't know if the school will just up & say "OK, we will pay everything, just send the bills to our insurance XYZ company" or if you will need to pursue this legally, hence the lawyer consult. But you shouldn't be responsible for 1000's of dollars, due to admitted negligence on the part of the school.

I hope your son is OK & recovers soon. T.

If I was in your shoes, I would for sure try to get the school to pay for your medical expenses.

I know (from too many kids and too many injuries ;) ) that any time we go in for an injury, my insurance sends me a form to fill out asking where I/my child was when he was injured, what he was doing, etc. This is the insurance's way to get payment from a company/school/home owners insurance due to their liability. I wouldn't put it past your insurance seek payment on their own.

I too would talk with a school district representative about this. You are not suing them, you just need them to pay for your medical costs, which the schools insurance should do.

My son broke his arm (serious injury, bone at a 90 degree angle, ambulance ride, very lucky it didn't require surgery) on the playground doing something stupid, but kids were doing it all the time and the playground adults should have seen it and put a stop to it. He was jumping off the top of gymnastic bars to the monkey bars. Way too high off the ground and very obvious. If my insurance did not cover 100% of the bills, I would have FOR SURE gone to my school for reimbursement. I am sure they ended up paying anyway because of the insurance form I filled out stating it happened at school. Now, I could have sued them in addition if I really wanted to, but that is not necessary. But they should be liable for medical bills.

I totally agree with you, pursue this. Wish I had more experience in how to do it.

HI J. T,
You got a really nasty post so just ignore that one. You will get these when you ask questions on here sometimes. As she stated she didn't have all the facts that she thought she needed so she should have just waited to post a message before making her statements.

Anyway I would start with the Principal. If you are not satisfied with their answer then seek legal advice. When kids are using things like hot guns there should have been more supervision. You shouldn't have to incur the costs due to their negligence. I hope your son will get better soon.

I am SO very sorry this happened!

Based upon my experience, I suggest utilizing/filing the claims your own insurance and letting their litigators go after the school's to cover the expenses. They have a whole team available for that. Call your insurance and talk with them about what happened. Let them advise you. That's what they do.

My daughter broke her finger at school. Nothing malicious, she just had the heavy outside door crush her finger when another student rushed through the door to get to recess. Her insurance asked about how the injury happened and if anyone else could be responsible for the bills. We explained where and how it happened and the insurance company took it from there. We certainly didn't and wouldn't sue but we were fine with letting the insurance companies hash it out since that is what they do.

This does not sound like the schools responsibility as much as the other child's parents' responsibility. Let those parent squeeze money from the school (who has armies of lawyers to back them). You need to get payment from the family who hurt your son.

Do you not have insurance? or school/sports related insurance? If not, then check with your hospital about a payment plan. And then if you don't have any of those find out about Obamacare and in our state it's got another name, but state insurance and if your school is actually at fault then definitely pursue that. I am sure the school has some sort of attornies who are familiar with how to deal with this type of thing and keep every single receipt and make copies to keep for yourself if you hand them over.Good luck! Hope he gets better soon.

I think I would have already file with an attorney. Yes the fixed the issue and were proactive but it was negligent that it happened in the first place. They should have a teacher or staff person going over the building and playgrounds every single day looking for areas where possible injuries could happen.

I had a staff assigned, in my child care center, who's job was to go out and inspect the playground for breaks, tears, glass, trash, cigarette butts and drug paraphernalia, and animal feces in the sandy area every single morning.

She came in about an hour before she took her class and she'd even rake the sand to make sure drug addicts hadn't buried syringes or razor blades or other stuff in the sand to hide it. She found stuff sometimes too.

A child care center can be an unsupervised playground in the off hours and many neighborhood kids will go and play on the equipment. Adults will go and sit around on the benches and swings and stuff and smoke dope and do all sorts of stuff they shouldn't be doing. If a car or officer comes along they have a convenient place to stick stuff, under the sand hides smoke and all their equipment in a hurry.

So a school is supposed to have safeguards in place and each teacher is aware of the rules and responsible for their rooms and when their students go anywhere else on the grounds.

He had burns? I'd say the teacher with him was responsible and they deserved to have their name listed on a law suit.

The staff that inspects the building and makes sure the teachers are in compliance are also liable.

I know you don't want anyone to get in trouble for what happened but they allowed your child to be hurt. At the very least you should be on the phone with the superintendent of the district and others at the admin office. They should be handing you the papers to fill out and take to the docs, with the addresses of where those docs should be sending the bills.

You should not be having to pay a single penny. This is their fault and they should be begging you to let them pay for this. It is what they should be doing so you don't HAVE to sue them to pay for his medical treatment because it's too expensive.

Also, speak with your insurance company. If they know this was a school accident they can and probably will sue the school on their own to get their money back. They should NOT have to pay out on this claim in any way.

When our granddaughter fell and broke her arm at the gymnastics place where I work we didn't ask the business owner to pay anything. They were closed and I was letting her be on the springboard floor turning cartwheels. There were no classes in the building. I was hanging and tagging new leotards and had my back to her.

She fell and broke her arm. It was my fault and it was not the gym owners fault in any way.

Our insurance filed a lawsuit against the company. I called them and told them it wasn't in any way the business fault. They dropped the suit.

So your insurance company can sue them on their own to recoup the money they paid out. If this is his fault or yours then call the insurance company and let them know.

IF it IS the school's fault you may have to sue for the bills so you can pay for them without your insurance being involved.

My brother broke his leg playing soccer in PE class. The school called an ambulance and then my mom. The schools insurance covered everything. It did not go thru my mom's insurance at all.

Call the school there should be record of this injury on file for burns this bad. They won't fight you on it. And yes you should definitely turn it in to the schools insurance. They have insurance for this kind of thing.

I hope your son heals soon.

What kind of surgery is required for a burn?