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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To make them pay? WWYD

142 replies

Marshmellowmallow · 06/09/2018 16:10

I've name changed for this as alot of the details are outing.

My husband broke his leg on school premises about 4 months ago. His work have been paying him full pay for 6 weeks and after that was SSP which means we are currently losing about £300 a week on his usual wage.

Due to this and the fact that we relied on my husband doing overtime, we have fallen behind on our rent and we have gone massively into our overdraft. I am a stay at home mum so the only real income we we are living off is the £92 a week SSP and child benefit.

The bone has healed in his leg but he has severe ligament damage which we have been told won't heal for another 2 months atleast. The type of job he has means he has to use his leg and is not much use without it so can't go back on different duties etc.

I spoke to citizens advice regarding the debt and they asked whether I had began proceedings to sue the school. I said I hadn't thought of it. I mentioned it to some of the school mum's at the gate and they were all absolutely horrified thstbi would even contemplate suing the school.

Please no bashing, I'm physically and mentally exhausted from this. I haven't slept in weeks from worrying about the money. I just don't know what to do Sad

OP posts:
Winterbella · 06/09/2018 16:46

You need to put your families welfare first in this instance, what use is the local school saving a little on insurance if your children are out on the street!

TeeBee · 06/09/2018 16:46

Of course you can continue a relationship! You just go and explain your situation rationally to the head teacher and explain that you will need to claim against their insurance because of the debt you are getting in as a result of the accident. You're not going to be having a slanging match in court; its just filling in forms.

motortroll · 06/09/2018 16:46

Yes take action. That's what insurance is for. This won't have an immediate or noticeable impact on the day to day running of the school. You can't not do it just because it's a school. You don't have totell the school mums. None of their business.

HollyGoLoudly1 · 06/09/2018 16:47

If the school/council have genuinely been negligent then of course you are absolutely within your rights to claim.

Are the no other benefits you are entitled to while he is off work? Housing benefit or income support for you? What would you do if he had an accident in your house or somewhere else where you couldn't made a claim for loss of earnings?

On a practical note, bear in mind any claim will take time to be processed so you will need yo make arrangements for the short term even if you are successful.

FranticallyPeaceful · 06/09/2018 16:47

I hate suing people for no good reason, it’s such an annoying thing people do these days. “Oh I hurt myself, I’ll sue them”! BUT here, you should, if it was their fault. They’re covered for this kind of thing (so it’s coming from the insurance company, not the school) and your family need it - you should do it. Don’t tell people you’re doing it, it’s none of their business.

KC225 · 06/09/2018 16:48

Do make a claim. It will be investigated, and if the school was at fault you should be recompensed. Also, look at it as alerting the school to a health & safety fail. Your DH's incapacity (not to mention pain) along with the financial burden must be every stressful. No one will have their wages docked. Do it.

DontTouchTheMoustache · 06/09/2018 16:48

Opyou should absolutely seek to claim compensation. However this is often a lengthy process and wont offer a solution to your current financial problems unfortunately

HerRoyalNotness · 06/09/2018 16:50

Of course you should make a claim. It should have no bearing on relationship with school going forward as it should not be seen as ‘personal’ you’re suing an entity.

As an aside, I think the way sick pay is dealt with in The Uk is disgusting! How can a family be expected to survive on £92 a week! Even in the US there is a disability insurance that covers a good % of a wage

HerRoyalNotness · 06/09/2018 16:50

*provides by the company

MissMisery · 06/09/2018 16:52

Another vote for claiming here.
It is absolutely what they have insurance for and why would the cowbags at the gate ever need to know you’d done it?

lazyarse123 · 06/09/2018 16:53

He absolutely should sue if they are at fault. Bemused at the suggestion you get a job as most jobs are paid at least a month in arrears so will not help you in the short term. Hopefully there are benefits ( housing benefit) that may help you. Good luck.

Laiste · 06/09/2018 16:53

I wouldn't worry about the state of your relationship with the head teacher if you claim. Any head teacher who would get shirty with one of the parents for following the perfectly sensible and legal option of claiming back their expenses due to negligence on their site shouldn't be in the job!

Troels · 06/09/2018 16:56

Make a claim against the schools insurance and at the same time apply for any and all benefit help to get you through this.

purplecorkheart · 06/09/2018 16:58

It really all depends on the circumstances of the accident. If he tripped over his feet in the school grounds then he will not have a case.

If there was missing drain cover that they were aware of and his foot got caught in then he would have a case.

BikeRunSki · 06/09/2018 16:59

I dislike the claim culture, but if the school were negligent, why are you worried about taking money from them, since they are effectively taking money from you?

PolkerrisBeach · 06/09/2018 17:02

Assuming that there is negligence, this is what compensation is for!

Compensation isn't about suing for hurt feelings or other silly issues, it's about giving you money so you're not losing out because of something which happened to you. You ARE clearly losing out as your DH is unable to work and is down to SSP. Compensation should be there to make up his lost earnings and cover costs of trips to hospital.

I would get in touch with one of those "no win no fee" lawyers.

Katescurios · 06/09/2018 17:04

It will all go through the insurance and if the school were negligent then you should claim. Be aware that your DH islikely to be asked to attend a medical expert for a review, the insurance may also advise after receiving that report that a follow up on X months will be needed to assess the long term impact .

It’s just taken me 10 months to complete a claim, I had a full written apology and acceptance of liability within 2 weeks. The rest of the time was medical reports, reviews, physio etc and it was only that fast because I contacted the head of claims and insisted on them dealing with it direct.

BloodyDisgrace · 06/09/2018 17:07

Some people get horrified when you show you have self-respect and can stand up for yourself, because either they don't or wouldn't, or actively think suffering from life shit is ok.
Good luck with the compensation/sueing. Is it a state school? If so, someone from higher up might come and investigate if there was a breech in health and safety (like, slippery floor), or basically establish that there is liability and negligence on the part of the school. When I had a nasty accident at work (civil service) and was signed off with PTSD, the local council H&S officer came to investigate exactly that, and wrote the report, sending me a copy. Maybe something like that can be done?

Oakmaiden · 06/09/2018 17:09

You are just claiming on their insurance. That is what insurance is for.

The insurance company will not pay out if it does not consider it to be appropriate, but it sounds pretty much from the little you have said that it could well be appropriate. So go for it.

DiamondsOnTheDogsCollar · 06/09/2018 17:09

Definitely take legal advice, and don’t feel guilty. People tend to underplay a broken leg, but depending on the nature of the injury, it can be life-altering. Happened to my husband a few years ago, it was a catastrophic injury and we deal with the consequences every day. In his case there was no one else liable, but if there had been we would definitely have taken legal action.

twomonkeys2 · 06/09/2018 17:09

I agree with everyone that says you should make a claim. The only thing I'd add is that you should stop talking to the mums at the gate about this. It's a private matter between you and the school. It won't help at all having people gossiping about it, so tell the school you wish for the matter to be confidential as it's very sensitive. If you are reasonable and explain it just as you have done here, I'm sure the head will respond well. Good luck and I hope things improve soon.

sprinklesandsauce · 06/09/2018 17:16

I don't like the claim culture eaither, but I do agree that a business should pay if negligence causes you hardship.

This is why businesses pay insurance. People need to take the emotional sentiment out of it, and treat this as a business transaction.

You are severely out of pocket, could potentially lose the roof over your head due to the accident, therefore I think you are perfectly reasonable and entitled to claim.

TBH I wouldn't mention it to anyone, it is nobody else's business and the school won't be allowed to discuss it.

If anyone does have a go at you, simply ask them if they would like to pay your rent for you if they are so against you making a claim.

Malbecfan · 06/09/2018 17:21

Claim. They should be insured and that's what it is there for.

I sued a school. I worked there and without going into lots of detail, they accepted some responsibility. I used a product that had been provided for teachers to use. The product said in tiny writing that it could be an irritant. However, I arrived just before my lesson due to having to drop my kids at nursery and found loads of swearing on the board. The surface of the board had been damaged previously and the only thing that removed the swearing was the product. What the school was negligent about was that they should also have provided gloves to anyone using it.

I went through my union and received a 4-figure payout as it did some lasting damage to my skin. 15 years on there is still sensitivity on the affected area. The school never made mention of it and I'm still friends with the then-Head.

Don't feel bad. The purpose of the insurance is to ensure that you are back in the position you would have been if it had not happened. I don't normally advocate or like them but I'd be tempted to contact one of those ambulance-chasing "where there's blame there's a claim" lot. Your family has suffered massively financially due to the negligence of the school and the Head's admission is proof. Good luck with it

BlackeyedSusan · 06/09/2018 17:26

nrtft

you are not taking money from the school. they set themselves up to lose money by being negligent. it is their fault if they have to pay out money not your dps.

Auntpetunia2015 · 06/09/2018 17:26

Make a claim on their insurance. You’ll need a solicitor as they will pass it to the council legal department who will try and bamboozle you or get out of it. So it needs to be lawyer to lawyer. But yeah If it happened because school were negligent ie he was somewhere he was meant to be and something caused him to fall then do it so if a floor was wet but no signs. But If he was standing on a wall to watch the footy and he shouldnt have been then no.