AIBU to instruct a lawyer

[babyno5]

Yesterday my 12 year old DS sustained a very deep and long laceration to his leg after slipping in a grassy slope at school and ripping leg open on a rusty pipe which was sticking out the ground. It nicked an artery and required 15 stitches to close it.
He’s in such a lot of pain and I am just beside myself-partly because I know the outcome could have been so much worse.
Also furious it took the Headteacher 24 hours to contact me to ask how he was.
To clarify this is not about the money but it’s about making them accountable and face up to their negligence.
To make it worse we go on holiday in 3 weeks to Florida and we have paid for just about everything there is to experience there so the kids have a holiday of a lifetime. I would hate him to miss out on anything as he has been so excited about going.
WWYD?

I imagine the ht was checking where he stood legally, hence delay in contacting you.

Exactly that Ohyesiam. My sentiments exactly.

Wow, all this over an accident? Shit happens...

Yes shit happens when a school leaves a pipe sticking out of the ground. 🙄
Get legal advice before your meeting and take it from there.

Without meaning to be vulgar are you happy to pay for the lawyer too? It’s likely to cost several thousand and potentially as much, or more than you can expect to see for the claim should you win. It’s a large financial burden.

You would in all likelihood be able to instruct a lawyer on a "no win no fee" basis meaning nothing to pay if unsuccessful and a capped contribution to fees from your son's damages if successful (legally this has to be no more than 25%). I'm a PI lawyer, feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Way back in the nineteen thirties my mother had a terrible accident in school through the school's negligence in the science labs. My grandfather sued and won. Thanks to him the school took a lot more care in its science labs ever after.

Personally I would start my emailing a letter setting out your concerns to the Head, then if inadequate response write to chair of govs. If they don't sort out the pipe etc then complain to Ofsted. In the meantime go to a decent local firm of solicitors and ask for their advice

The HT called you 24 hours later - in my opinion that is perfectly reasonable. They would have expected you and your son to be busy at the hospital or settling him back home. There is no point in calling one hour later when he is still receiving treatment, for example.

You should absolutely speak to the school and governors about this. In your shoes, I would want to know how the pipe had been taken care of, why it hadn’t been flagged as a risk before and what they had done to ensure there are no other similar risks on school grounds.

The non-urgent ambulance is a major issue. I would want to know if the teachers were required to have first aid training and if they were qualified to request a non-urgent ambulance. Whatever procedures the school has in place need to be changed with regards to this.

I would not be considering suing the school at this stage. See how your discussions go with them. If you suspect a cover up, by all means go for it but really, at this stage, it is a school yard accident and, yes, accidents do happen. I say that as someone who had a school yard accident which resulted in a lot of blood loss. 1cm in another direction and it would have been a life changing injury. I don’t think you have reached the point where you can justify suing them. A lawsuit should make a meaningful change of difference. At this point, a lawsuit would just cost the school money as there is no indication they have tried to cover something up and your son hasn’t suffered life changing injuries.

You could see what the school is offering first. Agree to nothing. Then if not satisfied you could get advice from solicitors.

I don't mean to pick holes but was your DS meant to be on the slope, or what it somewhere he shouldn't have been?

If the latter, then a claim could be difficult. The school will have a duty of care to your son but (whilst it's not my field of law) I expect this will extend to playgrounds, classrooms etc. but not to areas that are 'out of bounds'. To take an extreme example, the school doesn't have a responsibility to make sure it's safe for kids to jump up and down on the flat roof of the science block.

Also, whilst CFAs ('no win, no fee') are very much still a thing, that bit of the market ain't what it used to be, with much tougher rules in place.

By all means have a conversation with a lawyer (an actual lawyer - if you ring the usual telly-advertising ambulance-chasing lot, you just get a call centre operative). But don't count on things being straightfoward.

Do you really think the head should know about every piece of waste metal on the school grounds? Maybe it's only just been uncovered.

It was a horrible accident but to sue would be excessive. These things happen, don't try to take money needed elsewhere.

Get legal advice... the school should have reported this accident to "someone". I can't remember exactly who, but when my nephew had an accident (broken bone) at school they didn't report it properly and this should have been done.

As far as it sounds they've breached a duty of care. A lawyer will be able to advise you.

I'm shocked that they saw fit to TORNIQUET his leg, but didn't seem to see that an ambulance was needed.

No claim for distress or suffering in the UK, only financial losses. Your son lost no money so no claim.

Don't know where this idea came from, it's not remotely true! Financial loss is usually only one aspect of a personal injury claim, alongside the compensation for the injury itself and compensation for distress / imconvenience.

Definitely speak to a lawyer OP, and get someone on a no-win, no-fee basis. You'll need to show that the school has a duty of care (they do), that the accident was reasonably foreseeable (I.e. Did they know or should they have known about the pipe), that they could have taken reasonable measures to prevent the accident and that they didn't take them. From what you've said you'll be able to meet those criteria, so it's definitely worth speaking to someone.

Your poor son. He's had a terrible experience - if that's down to negligence, he should be compensated for it.

When I worked in insurance, I was shocked at how many people tried to sue our clients in really ludicrous conditions, ie the woman who was cut by broken glass on the dance floor - but SHE was the one who ignored the signage about no glasses on the dance floor and broke the glass herself! And the man who sued his employer for hearing loss - he had refused to wear the "sissy" ear defenders and had already sustained hearing loss from having measles as a child!

These are CF claims. OP's ds's injury is not. School will be insured and have a duty of care to keep the children safe. They are clearly in breach of that and I absolutely would take action against them.

Really cheeky question, but I have seen a few comments from lawyer/legal field posters. Would this come under negligence? I am studying cilex (tort module) at the moment and I think that it would.

Check your household insurance policy, as you may well have legal expenses cover included.

Enjoy your holiday first. Legally, your DS has 3 years from the date of his 18th birthday ie when he becomes a legal adult, in which to bring the claim, so no rush. Also, it is better to wait for the medical position to become more settled first, when the extent of any scarring etc will be known.

However, you would be wise to keep a full record of everything at this stage, for use in any claim. In particular, I hope you have taken photos of the accident site, the pipe etc, noted carefully what your DS said, the HT, any other parents etc - all of this may be useful as evidence later.

Sleepy, yes it would likely be a negligence claim from what the OP has posted. She would be alleging the school were negligent by not ensuring the area was safe for children to play in.

Accidents happen

Had the school been more caring I doubt you would want to sue

Accidents happen and this could have happened if he fell off a bike on the street

I don’t see any value in during the school
Here

Sorry OP and hope he recovers . It sounds ever so upsetting and scary

There is a difference between 'accidents happen' and 'accidents happen because someone was negligent'.

This is the latter.

Negligence should be tackled because if it isn't, things don't change and other people will be hurt.

Picking up on what @EdithDickie said about the 25% deduction, where the client is a minor, the damages have to be approved at an Infant Approval Hearing, which is a short (10-15 min) hearing where a Judge makes sure the child is being adequately compensated for their injuries. At that hearing, you have to ask the Judge for permission to deduct the 25% from the damages. Some Judges agree, some don't, so it's not guaranteed.

The money will either go into the Court Funds account until the child is 18 or, if the Litigation Friend comes across as trustworthy and shows that the child has an account of their own with a better interest rate, they will release the money to the LF for investment instead.

I work in public liability claims, and this case falls under the Occupiers' Liability Act '57 (the Act which deals with lawful visitors, there's another Act for trespassers). I'd want their risk assessments / inspection records / maintenance records, plus any specific documents about that pipe. From those you'd decide if there was negligence on the school's part.

From what you've said, I'd definitely go to a PI lawyer and get those investigations done as it sounds like a nasty injury which will scar, and that's exactly the kind of injury which should be compensated.

You can also PM me with any questions.

Gosh your poor son!

Like others I was a little unsure at first but reading your post makes me think yes 100% take this further.

I can't believe they didn't call an ambulance! Just all so shocking.

Hope he is feeling better for Florida - we went earlier this year & it's incredible :)

Yes this is RIDDOR reportable, because he needed medical treatment.

OP, if your main concern is that the school learns from this, your options are to report to the HSE, or to complain to the EFA or Ofsted.

From what you say, the school may have breached H&S legislation in failing to identify & make safe the play area (a risk assessment must be in place, and safety inspections should be carried out periodically), but this may have ben genuinely unforeseeable.

However their provisions for first aid are clearly inadequate if an arterial bleed has not been dealt with appropriately. This is also in breach of legislation, and needs addressing.

Can’t see any of my teacher friends (including one HT) leaving it 24 hours to contact a pupil’s parents, especially not where the school had not covered itself with glory.

Looking at that pipe, i can imagine that he was in immense pain! Hope he can make it to Florida

In regards to the 24 call back, I think that’s okay honestly. During those 24 hours, there would obviously be inappropriate times to call, like through the evening/night. There would be no point calling within the first few hours as he would have been in theatre and still being treated (so no ‘update’per se as it is still ongoing). Then the next day, he just called you at an appropriate time so 10am rather than 7am sort of thing. I imagine he did get legal advice on liability and what/what not to say on the phone too.

I do agree that the school hasn’t understood how severe his injury was. I assume that the staff at the time thought it was just a deep cut rather than a cut artery as they aren’t medically trained. They clearly haven’t understood the severity so this would be worth mentioning to the head to see how he negotiates from there.

Your next point of call would be a good personal injury solicitor.

“Today 04:29 EdithDickie

Without meaning to be vulgar are you happy to pay for the lawyer too? It’s likely to cost several thousand and potentially as much, or more than you can expect to see for the claim should you win. It’s a large financial burden.

You would in all likelihood be able to instruct a lawyer on a "no win no fee" basis meaning nothing to pay if unsuccessful and a capped contribution to fees from your son's damages if successful (legally this has to be no more than 25%). I'm a PI lawyer, feel free to PM me if you have any questions.”

I have just settled a case that is another area popular for no win no fee. It was only no win no fee provided it wasn’t “complex” in reality this meant undisputed. They started charging after 2 letters. Are you no win no fee up to trial?

Most places are no win no fee to trial. We are (unless the client wanted to go against our advice to discontinue, at which point it would be paying for it or trying to go elsewhere).

Many, many EL/PL claims are disputed initially. We have to issue Court proceedings on a large percentage of our files to force the defendant to settle.