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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To take legal action against school?

194 replies

SingleNow · 14/05/2012 14:24

My 4yr old ds has had yet another accident at nursery. This time he has taken a chunk out of his thumb, it is quite bad and although it was bleeding a fair amount could not be stitched as there was nothing to stitch together.

He had just gone back to school last Monday after 2 weeks off after falling head first onto a wood flower bed and having a bump from his hair line to the bridge of his nose.

This accident/incident with his thumb I feel is one too many in a short space of time.
It was his fault partly as he put his thumb in the metal plate on the door frame and walked as he walked the plate sliced a chunk off his thumb. My point is that there shouldn't have been anything as sharp as that near 3 and 4 yr olds and also the fact that staff all say the same thing. " we don't know what happened" now whilst I agree that they cannot watch every child due to the amount of pupils (26) there are 3 members of staff and it is always the same they never know how DS gets hurt.

So I have decided to take legal action AIBU???

OP posts:
Original poster
SingleNow · 14/05/2012 16:52

Lizs that's why I am having a meeting on Thursday to discuss things before I take any action. The meeting is with the head and the chair of governors. That's what the head teacher asked for when he called to see how Ds was and I said I was not sending him back.

OP posts:
Original poster
SingleNow · 14/05/2012 16:54

Behind, a security door slammed on my finger, I didn't put it in a lock!!!! I had to have VY plasty to rebuild the tip as I lost half of it in the door. I did not sue as I said accident DO happen.

OP posts:
TandB · 14/05/2012 16:54

You seem to have had a complete personality change as well as a name change since your thread about your finger, OP - I remember it.

WorraLiberty · 14/05/2012 16:54

Let me guess

Your child was all set to be a thumb model

or

He was due to play Tom Thumb in a blockbuster movie

Now he's going to lose out on millions of pounds?

Floggingmolly · 14/05/2012 16:54

It was his fault, partly. You said it yourself. The part that wasn't wasn't his fault was presumably an accident?
My dd broke her nose at school a couple of years ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of treating it as anything other than an accident. You can't always apportion blame, you know? And usually it serves no purpose anyway.
If you had such reservations regarding the care your son was receiving, why did you keep sending him there? Or do you just have the 20:20 vision of hindsight?

Original poster
SingleNow · 14/05/2012 16:55

Lizs it is more than likely a knee jerk reaction which I am the first to admit.

OP posts:
Floggingmolly · 14/05/2012 16:55

Worra. Grin

TandB · 14/05/2012 16:55

"Your child was all set to be a thumb model"

Or maybe it was like the episode of Friends were Joey found his hand-twin and was convinced they could make a fortune...

Original poster
SingleNow · 14/05/2012 16:56

Kungfu, I also got rid of a lot of baggage which was weighing heavy on my life.

OP posts:
Original poster
SingleNow · 14/05/2012 16:57

Worra not exactly....his hands aren't quite pretty enough to be a thumb model and he is too tall to be Tom thumb Wink

OP posts:
TandB · 14/05/2012 16:57

So why so dogged about suing now when you were quite prepared to accept that your own accident was just that - an accident?

Original poster
SingleNow · 14/05/2012 17:00

Kungfu, it's the amount of accidents/incidents that happen within the nursery. Not just with ds. I admit I had a knee jerk reaction especially when today I looked at his thumb when changing the dressing and it's really yucky. Which is when I posted this thread.

As it stands I will attend the meeting, he won't be going back for the last few weeks ( think its 10) and he will start his new school (closer to home) in September.

OP posts:
5318008 · 14/05/2012 17:00

are you in the UK? Scotland, England, Wales? slightly diff regs may apply

Nursery or school? confusing from your posts, sorry

Original poster
SingleNow · 14/05/2012 17:01

53, England and its a nursery within a school.

OP posts:
BehindLockNumberNine · 14/05/2012 17:04

SingleNow, I did not say you put it in a lock Grin You would have to be completely daft to do that!
I meant that you, too, are prone to the odd accident. And so is your ds. The apple does not fall far from the tree after all Smile

Sorry about your finger. But you have accepted that that was an accident. So why not accept that the things with your ds are just that, accidents....?

Original poster
SingleNow · 14/05/2012 17:05

Behind, with regard to my finger it was an accident which the school could have prevented if the hydraulic arm had been the correct one iyswim?

OP posts:
lunamoon · 14/05/2012 17:05

I was going to say YABU, but I think there is a serious point about the nursery not recording accidents properly.
I would expect a written note to parents just saying that child x has bumped their head, the time it took place, what action was taken -if any- and the name of the member of staff who dealt with the incident. failing this then a record of it in an actual accident book.
I don't think school should have phoned you but simply informed you of the accident and handed you the note.
There are limits though regarding health and safety and if we are not careful then nurseries and schools will stop activities altogether as they will be deemed "too risky".
Remember too that all stages of life pose risks.
Simply getting on a bus, in a car poses a risk, you could be fatally injured.
Learning to walk involves risks etc etc....

tunafortea · 14/05/2012 17:06

SingleNow - sorry about your Ds' thumb. Hope he is feeling better. Sounds like he's had a lot of minor accidents, have you had his sight / balance etc checked? HOpe you get some closure at the meeting with HT.

Dont mean to derail, but is it the law in Scotland, England, Wales that a school must notify you if an accident has happened?
My Ds has come home a number of times now having been physically bulllied, witnessed by an adult. School told me nothing, and won't confirm if incident report filled out.
Sorry if this is slightly off topic, but you guys might know!

Original poster
SingleNow · 14/05/2012 17:11

Tuna, yes his eyes are tested every few months. He has glasses he wears all the time and they are only a couple of weeks old. So I trust they are ok iyswim?

Ears, balance etc is fine.

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Mosman · 14/05/2012 17:11

They have a duty of care to supervise him with due care and attention if that's not happening then somebody needs their arses kicking.

tunafortea · 14/05/2012 17:14

Singlenow - wasn't trying to be flippant. I know someone whose kid has just been found to have a really unusual medical prob that everyone else had missed. Even if that were the case, they should still be looking after him!

Original poster
SingleNow · 14/05/2012 17:14

Thursday will tell a lot. The head teacher and I have a pretty good relationship and tbh I have no problem with him. I do have a problem with the nursery teacher. And simply because his lax attitude. I will talk to
The school on Thursday before I do anything.

OP posts:
Original poster
SingleNow · 14/05/2012 17:15

Tuna I didn't think you were, but yes he has bad eyes and needs to wear his
Glasses all the time.

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tunafortea · 14/05/2012 17:16
Smile Your plan sounds good! Smile
Original poster
SingleNow · 14/05/2012 17:17

Ok so thanks to MN I am calmed down.

First port of call is meeting on Thursday. Until then I shall just keep on looking after this yucky thumb. And it is yucky it's gone yellow Envy

OP posts: