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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:
hibbledibble · 06/09/2018 18:10

I echo previous poster's advice regarding benefits: check if you are entitled to tax credits and housing benefit.

I would get legal advice regarding a claim. Don't discuss it with mums at the school gate or your parents: it's nothing to do with them.

Original poster
Marshmellowmallow · 06/09/2018 18:10

@scrumymum - that's interesting so the headteacher can put a claim in without going through solicitors etc? I don't want to be greedy I just want to claim for loss of earnings

OP posts:
AnoukSpirit · 06/09/2018 18:12

You wouldn't just have to demonstrate the school were negligent though, you'd also have to show they owed him a duty of care.

Shopkinsdoll · 06/09/2018 18:15

If it was the schools fault, go for it. That’s why they pay their insurance. I know of three people at work suing the company for falls and trips and still working for them.

Oldraver · 06/09/2018 18:15

If they are negligent then getting the ball rolling with insurance may help your DH with treatment.

My Mum slipped and hurt her knee on wet floor in Asda...yes the insurers didg drag it out but they also paid for private injections of some sort in her knee

Scrumymum · 06/09/2018 18:24

No, no solicitors should need to be involved. You are likely to have to provide evidence of loss of earnings (payslip) and medical note advising how long to be off work. I had a put in a claim many years ago and this was what was required then. The person got their compensation and it was done and dusted. Of course I don't know your situation and it might not be so straight forward, but if they have admitted liability and apologised then I can't see this being an issue. First thing to do is ask to speak with the Business Manager.

topcat2014 · 06/09/2018 18:28

Another school governor here. Yes, that is what insurance is for.

However, the claim would be defended, so, there would only be a payout if the school was negligent.

NoTeaNoShadeNoPinkLemonade · 06/09/2018 18:31

OP I think I might know the incident you are referring to. But I'm not sure how to do the pm's.
If I'm correct then I don't see anything wrong with trying to make a claim,
if it happened at school then they must take some responsibility. What if it had been a child?

TheFifthKey · 06/09/2018 18:35

A headmaster at a school I used to work with once mentioned offhandedly that the school was, at any given time, being sued by at least two people. It was just another fact of life for them. It’s hardly ground breaking stuff, and no need for other parents to know or have an opinion on it.

Labradoodliedoodoo · 06/09/2018 18:41

Email the head and chair if govenors explaining you will need to claim as you have no income and deeply in debt as a result, possibly about to loose your house

Gran22 · 06/09/2018 18:44

Please get some advice about benefits, local housing allowance; council tax benefit; tax credits etc. Regardless of the outcome of an insurance claim, you should be entitled to some help.

8dayweek · 06/09/2018 18:46

Regardless of whether you decide to sue or not you need to make a benefit claim in the meantime to keep you afloat. It depends on your area as to whether you'd be going down the UC route or not, but they don't tend to backdate ("I didn't know I could claim" isn't a reason IYSWIM) so get on to Turn2Us / EntitledTo ASAP.

Allthewaves · 06/09/2018 18:50

Sue the school then it's paid by the schools insurance and yes the premiums will double which will come out of school funds.

Just because the head apologised does not make them liable though.

Allthewaves · 06/09/2018 18:51

Have you looked into benefits. Tax credits can be estimated on your years income which is going to be lower so will.increase payments

FrayedHem · 06/09/2018 19:01

What does your husband think? It is him who will need to claim. I'd really not do a quick settlement for loss of earnings until you know more about how the ligaments are healing.

It's very unlikely the insurance premiums will double and 1 claim may make little difference to the underwriters at renewal.

strawberrypenguin · 06/09/2018 19:03

If the school were negligent then yes I would. They will have insurance. Was the apology in writing? I assume the school followed procedure and filed a RIDOR report as well?

youarenotkiddingme · 06/09/2018 19:26

When I was 18 I was in a pub one evening on the dance floor. Another patron was waving his arms above his head as he danced.

The sign hanging above the dance floor was knocked off this way and landed on my head .
Went to a and e and couldn't do my weekend job shift the following day.

Pub paid me the wage I'd lost after we wrote and asked.

My uncle (who works in pubs) then told me I should have gone through a proper claim as it would be worth thousands.

I was happy with my £30 which was loss of wages 😂

siblingrevelryagain · 06/09/2018 19:31

The premiums will go up

It may trigger additional inspections

The head/senior leadership/teaching staff will be using valuable time they don’t have in filling in forms/speaking to assessors/possibly attending court

It wouldn’t sit right with me-you’ll forever sour your relationship with the school. Unless they haven’t learnt from it abc changed practice/fixed the problem I would let it stay as an unfortunate accident. Life is full of them

AJPTaylor · 06/09/2018 19:46

Schools and councils have insurance as a mechanism of ensuring that they do not have to pay claims themselves.
For the love of god, contact a solicitor and get cracking. There is an initial investigation period but once they have accepted the claim your solicitor will be able to put in a request for an interim payment to get your finances on track
Avoid discussing these things at the school gate.

MeteorGarden · 06/09/2018 19:55

So I worked in claims in a previous life.

If the school have apologised they are essentially admitting liability although this doesn’t mean they won’t contest it should you claim.

Was it recorded in the accident book? All premises carrying public liability should keep track of all accidents that happen on their land.

Claims may seem like a big ugly monster (they sort of are) but they’re also a lot of peoples last resort. I saw lots of clients who would have lost their homes and livelihoods if they didn’t claim. The ‘Vicky pollard’ claimers are far less common than you’re lead to believe.

The truth is if you contact a reputable solicitors they’ll pick it up on a no win no fee kind of agreement and because of that they’ll tell you very quickly and clearly whether you have a claim or not. They have absoloutley nothing to gain from running a pointless claim. Just be very honest with them and it’ll all be ok. Go for a big company though xx

AmIRightOrAMeringue · 06/09/2018 20:12

It depends who buys their insurance, the school or the council. Either way, insurance premiums don't always go up for a one off claim (it's not like household where a claim is disproportionate compared to the size of the premium and they need to recoup the costs).

Suing someone is just agreeing formally the compensation you are due for loss of earnings and inconvenience eg cost of taxi rides etc. This is what insurance is for. It's why it was invented. And they are likely to put pressure on the school to ensure it doesn't happen again.

The only circumstances I think it's morally wrong to claim are if it was mainly your fault, or if you've not actually been inconvenienced in any way.

Don't put your home in danger because you're scared of upsetting someone!

Poloshot · 06/09/2018 20:14

If it's down to their incompetence or if they're liable then take the necessary action.

AmIRightOrAMeringue · 06/09/2018 20:16

As part of their insurance contract they will not be allowed to settle claims themselves - they should be notifying insurers straight away

ChangerChangerson · 06/09/2018 20:19

The school will have on pic liability insurance who will cover any costs if you are indeed owed any.

GreenTulips · 06/09/2018 20:49

you’ll forever sour your relationship with the school

Yep - because they are (probably) liable for OP losing her home, her husbands income and an awful lot of stress.

Do you realise that claims made aren't personal and it's just more paperwork and form filling for the head? The money don't come out of their personal pocket!!

Put in a claim.

That's what it's there for