School Injury

What would concern me most was the refusal to give you the incident report. I believe it's a law in my state that they have to provide you with a report.

My son was injured on school property, and we had the opposite experience - we got the info right away, and while we took him to the doctor ourselves (no ER required), our medical insurance paid the usual. The school contacted us and sent us the necessary form to fill out for any additional expenses (copayments, deductible, etc.) so that we would have no expense at all. They really wanted to take care of it promptly because it's always very expensive when attorneys get involved!

Yes, check your contract, but I doubt very much that the school can operate, or allow an outside contractor to operate, a program that is exempt from liability coverage.

I would contact the medical insurance carrier and/or the hospital, and have them fight it out with the school.

I would also go over the heads of the Before/After School program who say they are "not allowed" to give you a report. I would go to the school district office or the superintendent directly. Tell them you insist on an incident report, and ask why there is such push-back on this. Tell them you can have your attorney contact the district's legal counsel if that's what they recommend, but you don't want to have to go that route.

Also contact the ambulance company or fire department who responded, and get a copy of the assessment made on site by the attending EMTs or paramedics.

Meantime, contact your family attorney and ask if a phone call from the lawyer is indicated or if you should be referred to a personal injury attorney. Always work on referral - don't contact the people who advertise on TV. The attorney gets paid out of a settlement so there's no cost to you, but this should be over and above basic medical fees so you don't lose out on this. Sometimes an inquiry from a lawyer is very effective in getting the school district off its rear end, and the threat of being assessed legal fees is far more than the medical costs over what your regular insurance handles.

My advice is to NOT pay the hospital at all until you've talked to someone with familiarity in these issues - insurer or attorney or both. The hospital has a much bigger department to chase down unpaid bills than you do to get paid back.

I'm not sure how long ago this happened but when I was taken to the hospital via ambulance about a year and a half ago, it took nearly three weeks to get the complete report from the records department at the hospital. Could the school be waiting to get everything. Much more detail than a "boo-boo report". Just a thought.

Read the contract you signed. It might state that the after school program does not carry medical insurance. If that is the case, your insurance will cover it.

Not so sure I would jump on the legal bandwagon. In the old days, this was called an accident. Read everything carefully, see who is responsible for bills incurred and any future bills. As long as your child is ok and bills are paid, that should be the end if it.

How did he get hurt. That might change my opinion. Hope all is well.

I would ask for the incident report, in writing. I would further contact the school and tell them that your child was injured and there is no report. What provision do they have for incidents like this on school property? You should also double check the contract you have with the before/after care program. Some do specify that injuries like this are not covered by them, which is why schools require children to have insurance for sports and activities. I would not pay a bill til I knew more who was liable for what.

When you say they are "not allowed" I would go to a supervisor, or corporate for why they can detail bumps and bruises but not something this severe. Your child's physician may need this information to make sure that any follow up care is appropriate. It sounds to me like someone is trying to cover their butt by not giving you a report. I suspect that they are trying to hide liability (equipment failure, for example, or lax supervison?), otherwise why would there not be a report?

If they could not provide me an incident report and a better answer, I would remove my child from the program.

Head injuries are no joke. A college student in our neighborhood died after tripping and falling during a backyard football game. If you feel you are not getting answers, it may be worth a consultation with a lawyer. I'm not one to say "Sue everybody!" but something is not right here.

ETA: Even if you think it was just an accident, you need the report. You need to know what happened. For your son's health, if nothing else. I frankly would no longer trust a program that wouldn't tell me how it happened and if you think they'll retaliate on your son, WHY keep him in that program? Don't be cowed. You should receive a report and you should know your rights. A consultation with an attorney doesn't mean you sue. It means you know if you should and what your rights are.

The school has shut down communication on you because their lawyers have told them to do so. Get out whatever contract or any other forms you signed when you registered your child for this program and read the fine print about waivers. Did you sign anything that was clearly a liability waiver? If so, you may be out of luck getting the school (or the private entity that runs the progrm for the school) to pay for anything at all. Get out those forms. Even if you did sign a waiver, your insurance company and/or a good lawyer may be able to question it.

The incident report is probably not appearing because they know it would be used as evidence by you. It's no mere "ouch report" in this case.

This is one for the insurance companies to hash out between them -- you need to get onto your insurance company and find out how they will pursue the school or the program for this, if at all. They may insist that you pay them now, and say they will fight it out with the school's insurer later. I had a friend whose kid was seriously hurt in a car crash that was another person's fault, and two years later the two insurers are still fighting it out over every penny for every treatment.

I would seriously consider lawyering up, especially if your child will need any ongoing treatment or could develop complications later.

Was the program at fault in some way? The school? Equipment problem on the playground, lack of supervision, etc.? I know this is secondary to your child's health (and I'm glad he's fine) but please push for the school to FIX whatever contributed to this, if there was some contributing factor.

The school is not giving you the report because they are afraid you are going to sue them. I don't really know what else you can do in that regard.

You could very easily go and get a copy of your child's records from the hospital. I will say in there what was said to ER personnel re how the accident/injury occurred.

Same with the ambulance - get a copy of the records.

As for them paying for his treatment, look at the paperwork you got when you put him in the program.

Hope your child is recovering.

I do not know the laws, but will give you an example of when people on this site have said the school is responsible.

The school purchase the wrong glue guns and a child was burnt because the school did not purchase the low temperature glue gun. I am not sure who said this here, but they did say the school paid for the care. It is hard to search, but if it is found you might get more examples.

So if the school has improper/defective equipment vs. a child falling off the jungle gym (in good working condition), could be the difference of who is responsible.

1) Ask in writing for the report from the school. Don't assume they will be mean to your son. They can write you. If they are not allowed to send it to you, I agree that is weird.
2) Did the hospital put it in writing that the school will pay? If it was some clerk having conversion (saying what you want to hear or you heard it how you wanted to), then that does not help you much.

Everyone seems to have covered the contract end. What happened? Generally speaking they aren't liable if it was an accident.

Liability, a big uncovered hole, your child falls in and hurt. Accident, two kids playing, not paying attention, run into each other. One could have been stopped the other was outside of their control.

I agree with everyone below. Pull out your documents you signed when you registered your child. That will dictate how you should proceed. One thought, it might be worth spending a couple of hundred dollars to seek legal counsel. See what your options are.

The school is not going to give you any information. They have "lawyered up" so to speak. They are on damage control now.

I would be curious as how he was injured. If he tripped over his own feet and fell hitting his head, then I would say you are out of luck. But if it was equipment, lack of supervisor then you would have more of a case.

I'm so glad your son is ok and on the road to recovery.

Read your contract and get a lawyer.

Read the docs you signed before he started the program.

When the hospital or Dr files your insurance, you are asked then and there if this was an accident and yiur insurance company typically negotiates with the insurance company the school has in dealing with payments.

I'm sorry it happened, I am glad your child is ok. If you choose to take this through to litigation, be ready to spend a lot if $$ to prove your case ( which probably can't be done 100%), spend a great amount of time and hassle going through the process ( you will not be reimbursed for this) and probably end up with your child in another school ( you'll be known as the people who sue).

SO many people are so sue happy that they forget long term consequences for suing. Around here judgments are small ( $1) in order to close the case when cases come up where it looks like someone wants a profit. Don't get me wrong, there are times it is necessary to file a claim but for the most part, any suing around here is frowned upon. I've been on a couple of the juries who voted in favor of the person being sued and to close the case.

Ask a lawyer if you wish. You'll find plenty of lawyers who live to play the game.

Again, I'm glad your child is ok. That's the main thing, right?

I'm just curious, what makes you think that the before and after school program is responsible financially for the hospital bill? Did they admit to some type of fault? Did you hear from someone that they are responsible for the injury? Sounds like you need to gather more detailed info from the program. I would tell them that you'd like to see the incident report that they filed. It seems that it should be your right to at least that they submitted an incident report. If you feel that they should be responsible for the bill, you may need to contact an attorney.

It probably depends on how the program is set up, and if you signed any kind of contract or waiver in order for your child to attend the program.

In my district, the after care is provided at the school, but not by the school, and I sign a contract with the group that provides the care. My rights in this type of case would be dictated by the contract.

Since you believe it was an accident then why do you want to hold the after school program financially responsible? If you break your leg at an ice skating rink then you pay, not the rink. If they are not negligent then they don't and shouldn't pay. Glad your child is okay.

Check your state laws... The property is owned by the school district, so your claim is most likely with them. However, schools have LARGE veils of protection, so this may not be as simple as you'd hope. I'm dealing with a similar issue if you'd like to talk privately, send me a message. Hope he is continuing to recover well :)

Do you know any lawyers? You may have signed a waiver for injuries when you enrolled in the program. Do you have your paperwork? While the injury may not be covered, how can they not be allowed to give you, the parent, an incident report? That doesn't sit right with me either.

I am so sorry this has happened and I hope your kiddo will be OK.

ETA: As an aside, I am not suggesting you sue when asking if you know any lawyers (not that you thought that). I have friends that are lawyers as do many people. They are pretty important professionals in helping one determine one's rights in such a situation, and I'd assume they could help you figure out what to do next. Obviously, if you hire a lawyer, it can get expensive, and people shouldn't be expected to work for free, but friends in the legal profession may be able to tell where to START. I hear a lot about us being a sue-happy culture, but I have never seen that to be true. Mostly I've seen that used a hammer to get people to shy away from suing when they have a real legal right to do so. :/

I'm SO sorry this is happening - your kiddo was seriously injured, and regardless of who pays, you need to know exactly what happened because you are likely not done dealing with this injury. *hugs*

I assume there is a handbook for both your school and the program. Read them both. Then go to the program director directly to get your questions answered. They should have some sort of insurance that will cover you if yours does not.

Hope he's ok and feeling better. So scary.

Pretty sure most daycares/schools/sports programs, etc. have you sign a release form when you sign up relieving them of any liability for accidents, have you looked at that?
Unless they were clearly negligent then this is like anything else that happens to your kid, it goes through your insurance.

In NY schools (including before and after programs) almost always carry student accident insurance policies to cover and any medical costs above and beyond the child's health insurance. I would think they would have insurance to cover this kind of scenario.