A man broke my arm yesterday

[garlictwist]

To be fair, accidentally. He collided with me in the swimming pool as he seemed incapable of swimming in a straight line. My arm is broken. I'm meant to be going on a kayakjing holiday this week which I'm having to cancel. I feel really sad as I've had such a tough year and it's been one thing after another. I'm in pain and pissed off. I'm just glad it was my arm and not my lower body as that would be worse.

Why? It was an accident

Men swimming like selfish morons in a swimming pool is a recognised phenomenon.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/horror-woman-dragged-underwater-male-24443695

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/swimming-abuse-women-catcalling-b1875324.html

And that's without the "just" feeling uncomfortable shit-

https://www.reddit.com/r/Swimming/comments/qmmu8a/asking_women_swimmers_how_often_do_you_feel/

Depends on where she works as it was a works facility. They may not have had lifeguards or just a nominal one.

We used to have sports facilities on site but shut them down, part of the reason being the risk of being sued.

Similarly OHs site had a creche/nursery organised by a group of mums. The people using the nursery paid which went towards staff wages, the facilities were provided by the site. A couple of years after ours went to school the nursery was told they had to find new premises as he site would no longer risk having them there. Fortunately by then it was a financially viable operation. Fees went up but they found somewhere and kept going.

Because OP suffered harm and loss and it was an accident caused by his carelessness and failure to follow the rules that keep swimmers from colliding.

Because HE broke the rules by swimming in the wrong part. He is at fault and OP has suffered an injury which is resulting in her losing money on a holiday.

Life doesn't work as simple as 'I got hurt, I get money.'

In pools where, even with proper lane ropes (which I doubt this one had) the current can tug people (even high level athletes) in strange directions - that's part of the reason why top swimmers draft. It's why people who do things like Iron Man/Triathlons will often swim on the tips of other peoples feet - to avoid the drag that isn't necessarily in a straight line. It is entirely possible that the other swimmer was dragged into OPs path by a current he himself wasn't generating - and OP would have a hard time providing that it wasn't accidental (not his fault) and getting any money. The only option would be if they were sharing a lane (marked by proper ropes) and instead of going clockwise he kept going anti-clockwise - but again, these things happen, even to professionals.

Besides, in OP's case, I doubt there was a lane rope (designed to try and stop the drag) so, actually, she'd have better luck sueing the pool/work. But again, I doubt it would get her far.

Sorry to read this @garlictwist . I hope you soon recover. Did you report the incident to the staff? They will have a procedure they have to follow.

I’ve come across this type of problem with men in swimming pools. It’s always men and they are often determined to swim, without acknowledging that anyone else is in the pool. I’ve been slammed into, just for swimming in a straight line in the lane.

Make a claim OP. You shouldn’t be put at risk by a fuckwit not swimming straight.

if the OP got travel insurance, then she won’t lose any money, we ad to cancel a holiday 5 days before we were due to go last year as I had an accident and we claimed off our insurance and got all our money back

I didn’t say she should sue simply because she got hurt, so starting your comment off as though that were the basis is a complete strawman.

I’m going off the OP’s posts, who states it was due to his carelessness. I accept there are going to be issues with proving liability and they may prove insurmountable, that doesn’t mean there isn’t liability there.

You sound adorable and it’s really nice you’re not angry. I feel frustrated at the moment like you as sometimes it just feels like you can’t catch a break but at least I haven’t had my arm broken in the pool! BUT this is actually a fear of mine (general collisions not arm breaks specifically) because some people (men usually though there’s one woman at my gym who’s insane) are so aggressive and don’t look up when they’re swimming! It’s so annoying! Anyway, I think wallowing is good. Just wallow away. Much better than repressing. Hope your arm gets better quickly!

I attended an incident where a woman slipped off a kerb in flip flops and the broken ankle bone came right through the skin 😱

Sorry about your holiday, and broken home of course! I'm also shocked that could happen in a pool!

If we're sharing silly broken arm stories I have two. As kids, my cousin once punched me in the chest and broke her own arm. And I once skidded in a cow pat, fell off my bike and broke my wrist!

I would go apeshit at him, why have you let him off the hook so easily?

It doesn’t matter if there was no malice, he hasn’t stayed in his lane.

Can you get a refund on the holiday? Or will insurance cover it?

@op

"He was going at a pace as was I. Our arms collided. So blunt trauma I guess. The doctor didn't seem to think it was an issue for concern re bone density."

I'd be careful to follow that up. My sister had a terrible leg break and was told it wasn't a bone density issue.

Because she pushed she had a bone scan and has found her asmatha medication had led to soft bones.

@Spidey66 No 'i'm sorry to hear about the accident sustained at our pub, we hope you make a swift recovery and thanks for suggesting we make the area safer with more lighting' They did explain about that though. It would be seen as an admission of liability to your No Win No Fee solicitors and their insurers would be very unhappy at having to settle a public liability claim for personal injury (which they probably would if the pub staff had written any of the above). Obviously YOU know if you're not going to sue them, but so many people do, even if they've been pleasant and said they weren't initially. So I can understand exactly why they have responded that way, it's nothing personal against you.

I used to work in insurance and was gobsmacked at the cheek of people who, for example, would ignore nightclubs' signage about not taking drinks glasses onto the dance floor then break the glass and injure themselves on it - then sue the nightclub. You honestly couldn't make it up...

A very large man ran over my very petite friend who I had not long taught to swim (in her 20s, not a child). He was going too fast in the slow lane and just swam right into her, pushing her under the water. After fishing her out I confronted him and asked what he thought he was doing. He said she was going too slow, it wasn't his fault. Completely unapolgetic that he'd hurt and half drowned her, plus caused psychological damage (she'd nearly drowned as a small child hence not learning to swim properly earlier). I went and spoke to the lifeguard and asked him to have a word. He just said to me people need to be careful and avoid running into each other - I know that, tell him! When in passing I spoke to the receptionist on the way out she said that they often have problems with aggressive male swimmers but the lifeguards won't confront them because there's been some 'incidents' previously. Fully agreed on having female only sessions as an option.

Anyone who breaks a bone in an incident like this really should pursue bone density investigations - do NOT rely on a doctor to pick it up, particularly A and E doctors who are rushed off their feet.

All fine and dandy if you fall with your full body weight onto a limb, which certainly can cause a break if you are in a strange position even if the fall itself seems minor. But some of the people on this thread who have blithely shared how they broke bones due to a strange angle/minor fall really should go and get checked - breaking a fibula, wrist [edited to add if you break your radius at the wrist in this way, this is not normal either - ulna is] or foot bone from 'landing funny' is very normal. Breaking a tibia is not.

Ditto with this swimming incident. Yes, it could be down to force and angle - but that should not be the assumption in a woman (or an elderly man). I'd be getting bone density investigated to be sure.

Yep. I suggested this upthread. I fractured my femur a few years ago and was surprised, as I didn’t think the fall was that forceful. Asked about bone density during hospital treatment and it was never followed up on. Asked my GP in the weeks following discharge and it was dismissed - he said the hospital would followed up on it had they had any concerns. Two years later I was diagnosed with quite advanced osteoporosis after a DEXA scan as a result of ongoing problems. I’d be insisting after broken bones as a result of fairly minor trauma.

Bad luck!
Hope you mend soon x

Is it actually broken OP or very sore? If it is genuinely broken that is shocking & I would be concerned about how easy my bone had broken?!

This ^^^

This is making my blood boil.

Absolutely.