To consider not sending DD back to pre-school after accident?

[Rainatnight]

DD (3) started pre-school (a nursery attached to a primary school) on Monday.

Today, she had a bad accident. We’re still a bit unclear exactly what happened, but the upshot is that her hand got caught in a big metal gate, opened by a TA, crushing the middle finger.

We spent the day in A and E, and it’s been operated on. The doctors described it as a very bad injury, and were very surprised the gate didn’t have anything on it (like that plastic covering you sometimes see on the edges of doors).

It was awful. DD was obviously incredibly distressed. Her little school uniform was covered in blood. I didn’t look at the finger while the doctors did, but DP said it looked like a banana that had been peeled. I feel sick just thinking about it.

When we feel calmer, we need to collect our thoughts and decide what to do.

Right now, my gut feeling is that no way are they getting my child back. But I don’t know if that’s reasonable cos I’m very emotional.

So I’m interested in thoughts.

And would be good if anyone who works in schools could let me have their perspective, plus anything I should ask at a meeting with the school.

If you’ve never had an issue with the nursery prior to this then you’re not making your dd safer by moving her.

Did you miss the bit where the OP states that her child started in this preschool on Monday ???

Thank you all so much for all the responses and the great advice. Sorry I didn’t reply last night - we were all exhausted!

To answer some of the questions...

Yes, it’s the school she’d be going to for primary. But there’s a really decent choice of schools here, so it’s not the only option.

They’re showing signs of wanting to do the right thing. They are extremely apologetic, want to have a meeting with us etc. On the other hand, they seemed very unclear on what had happened which raises questions for me about supervision. And they were in the most awful panic when they called us and when I went to collect her. They claim the ambulance service wouldn’t come.

The big metal gate seems to have been the main gate, because they were all being brought outside for a fire drill.

And to clarify, yes, it was her fifth day, so not a case of whether we’d had a good relationship with them previously. Picking her up in a blood soaked uniform is now pretty much the defining characteristic of our experience there!

I don’t think I’m in either the ‘sue them’ camp or the ‘just an accident’ camp. I don’t think suing achieves much. Obviously I want lessons to be learned but if that can be achieved through an investigation (and HSE reporting, as suggested here), then I don’t think suing is needed.

On the other hand, particularly after what PPs have said here about safety guards, I don’t think it was ‘just’ an accident. If she’d fallen off a climbing frame and broken something, I’d think it was an accident, but this seems really egregious.

We’re going to ask for an investigation etc, and presumably they’ll fix the gate as a result, but that still leaves me with wider questions about the safety there. What else hasn’t been spotted and fixed?

And thanks for all the good wishes. She doesn’t seem too bad today, though upset she can’t use her hand properly cos of the massive bandage.

I feel awful on the other hand. Really sick and anxious-feeling.

The big metal gate seems to have been the main gate, because they were all being brought outside for a fire drill.

If it was a fire drill then the lack of supervision, and being unable to tell you exactly what happened would annoy me even more. In the schools i've worked at such events have had more supervision and checking. As the children are likely to be unsettled; and in some cases frightened, by the sudden noise and change to the routine.

Yes, a neighbour who works as a TA has said why was DD able to get to the gate without anyone seeing. I don’t know what I think about that - she’s as unpredictable as the average three year old!

Of course it was an accident, nobody let it happen or caused it on purpose.

But the point is wether or not the accident happened because there was negligence.

The fact that nobody knows exactly what happened would be a huge red flag for me.

Especially if they were doing a fire drill since they are supposed to be strictly organised, it’s not like they were playing freely.

I would want certain questions answered like how and why the gate was open and why she was anywhere near it, especially if it’s the main gate to the car park/street and why was she unsupervised enough to be able to be playing with or near enough to the gate to get her hand trapped in it.

I rarely believe suing is the answer but I would definitely want answers as to how and why this could and did happen, I would want a full investigation, I would want to see the cctv, and I would want someone held responsible if negligence was proven.
I would also expect to see changes made to ensure this never happens again and to prevent anything similar ever happening.

As long as they learn from the incident then she is actually probably as safe if not safer there than elsewhere. Accidents happen, and in so many cases they could not have been predicted because nobody had even considered the possibility. It's about learning from them and the procedures that were in place in the aftermath. I'm guessing the preschool has been open for years and this is the first accident of its type? Just horrible for you but don't let it put you off preschool in the future

Accidents happen. Who would you have sued if it occured in your car?

OP re the point about raising a claim against them. You say you are unsure as to the point of that.

It will depend on the extent of the injury and the recovery time. Have you had to take time of work? Loss of earnings.

Will there be permanent disfigurement? Possibly to soon to tell.

Will she need cosmetic treatment or physio treatment that could be paid for privately?

There is insurance in place for these types of things. Considering the possibility of a claim does not make you a bad person. The point being it is to compensate your daughter for any financial loss, or in this case you if earnings, and to make her life easier in the future. It would also encourage safety steps to be implemented in the future.

I hope she feels better soon. I would be reluctant to send her back.

Sounds very similar to the accident my son had in the local park except I opened the gate not a TA and my sons finger was severed. It was horrible and traumatic and thankfully it was reattached and is 100% perfect now. But should I lose custody of my son? It was a freak accident and I imagine the TA is absolutely mortified.
Of course speak to the school, but it was an accident that’s all.

100% agree with @Moobar re considering costs to you and long-term effects on her when considering suing.

Teddybear, it’s as JollyandBright says, it’s not the fact of the accident, it’s whether there was negligence. We don’t have a car (live quite centrally in a big city) but if I was slamming a car door, I’d make sure little kids’ fingers weren’t in the way.

Anyway, I’m unlikely to sue, so no point defending a position I’m not taking!

Will your child be left with permanent damage to her finger as a result of this? That is what you need to consider. If she will be then she has an absolute entitlement to be compensated for that and if that involves legal action then so be it. That is what insurance is for.

This happened to my dd at nursery. The difference being, she had been there since 10 months old, so had many friends and enjoyed going.

I took her back the day after her accident and operation. A little bit like getting back on a bike, I didn't want to make it into a big thing.
When we went back in, the owner was putting hinge guards on the exit door where the accident occurred, so at least lessons had been learnt.
I was quite pragmatic about it until a month into her injury (and gwice weekly hospital visits) we were told she would need plastic surgery.
I did sue them, and they fully understood and agreed, the door should have had finger guards on and the person who closed the door should have checked there were no little fingers in the hinge.
Her thumb and nail is now scarred and deformed, she also lacks feeling in it. As she is not 18, the money is still in court funds for her, she will have access to it next year.

Doctors yesterday said it would function well but that there would be cosmetic damage. Plastic surgery did the op yesterday.

I just have a really sick feeling in my tummy about the school now. I think maybe because we were so new there, with no-pre-existing trust or relationship. I feel like a PP said, just this instinctive feeling of ‘you’re not getting your hands on my baby’.

Anywhere that looks after children has a duty of care to ensure their safety. There have been numerous incidents and prosecutions concerning vulnerable people who have been injured by hinges on gates. The solution is simple, low cost and effective. To compare the injury to having your fingers shut in a door is simply wrong as the area around a hinge is like a nut cracker and the forces are magnified to such an extent that a serious injury could occur. For more information please contact Gate Safe www.gate-safe.org or [email protected]