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AIBU?

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Original poster

Son comes back from school trip with fracture

341 replies

debsadoos123 · 23/02/2020 00:06

Hi, first time poster, please be kind. I picked my 14 year old DS up from school at 4pm today after he'd been away for a week skiing. When I got to him he had a makeshift bandage on his wrist and the teacher explained that someone had fallen into him yesterday morning and that my DS complained of extreme pain in his wrist. The said teacher went on to explain that they didn't seek medical attention because if it was broken then my DS wouldn't be able to fly home. They had taken him to a chemist and purchased a bandage and applied it.
By the time we had got home (10 min drive) my son was crying in pain so we went straight to A&E... Long story short, he has fractured a bone in his wrist. He is now in plaster and we have to return in 10 days for a bone scan.
Would I be unreasonable to make a complaint to school about their lack of action and failing to provide a duty of care?

OP posts:
Schuyler · 23/02/2020 00:09

YANbU, poor kid and I’d not be happy that I wasn’t even phoned to seek my advice.

olympicsrock · 23/02/2020 00:09

Not good. YANBU. I would complain very loudly

Tombakersscarf · 23/02/2020 00:16

I wouldn't be happy but I would also be unhappy to get a call saying he had to stay in (wherever) with a teacher because his wrist was fractured.. I would want him home with me.
Did the doctors say if the delay has caused further damage?

CyberNan · 23/02/2020 00:24

they denied him medical attention in fear he would not be able to fly home...

gross neglect of their duty of care. the implications of this could be huge for whoever made that decision. can you imagine if he had suffered shock... sepsis... who knows what could have happened to the poor child. and to make him suffer pain without any kind of relief is outrageous.

TheoriginalLEM · 23/02/2020 00:33

Christ, I'm really on the fence with this.

Does the hospital say there was more damage done by waiting?

I think id want my child home but I'd want them to have medical attention also, and then if they say he wouldn't have been able to fly with a fracture there nest be a reason.

So Yeah, I'd be pretty livid the more I think about it

lyralalala · 23/02/2020 00:37

I'd be livid

It would have been a pain in the arse to have a child hospitalised while they were away with the school, but if a child needs medical attention then they need medical attention

If they genuinely feared it was broken then it was utterly irresponsible to fly home with him. They could have caused further damage to his wrist and could have caused a situation where the flight had to divert inconveniencing everyone

Procedures for shit hitting the fan are standard on trips so it's not like there would have been a major issue with him having to stay - they'll have known who'd stay with him.

HmmIsThisAGoodIdea · 23/02/2020 00:37

'gross neglect of their duty of care. the implications of this could be huge for whoever made that decision. can you imagine if he had suffered shock... sepsis... who knows what could have happened to the poor child. and to make him suffer pain without any kind of relief is outrageous.'

This ^^.

Theholidayarmadillo4 · 23/02/2020 00:39

I think they should have rung you as it was happening so you could decide what would happen.

Pixxie7 · 23/02/2020 00:39

They should have rung you and advised you of their intentions but would you really have wanted him stuck in another country?

Samtsirch · 23/02/2020 00:40

Agrée with Tombakersscarf
I think the teachers were concerned foremost with getting him back home to his family, and perhaps to his own doctor / local hospital.
Imagine how you would feel to receive a call informing you that your child had been refused the flight home , pending hospital admission / treatment.
I truly believe the teachers acted in the best interest of both your child and your self.

Curioushorse · 23/02/2020 00:42

But would you have wanted him stuck out there for a fortnight? In my school (and I don’t know what their plan would have been), you’d have been required to go and stay with him to relieve the teacher.

YeahWhatevver · 23/02/2020 00:42

It's a tough one, I can see how oy turned out like this.

Definitely not OK to not call you and allow you to make the decision/speak to DS

SnoozyLou · 23/02/2020 00:42

Yes. Him not being able to fly would be a massive inconvenience. So they decide to leave a fracture untreated, risking potential longterm health implications for him instead.

I would go and see a solicitor.

CrowBones · 23/02/2020 00:43

What would you have done if it had happened when you were on holiday, OP? Stayed, or preferred to fly home and deal with it here?

lyralalala · 23/02/2020 00:44

I truly believe the teachers acted in the best interest of both your child and your self

I can't think of any occasion where it is in the best interest of a child with a fractured arm to be left without proper medical care, or pain relief, from one morning until 4pm the next day.

SnoozyLou · 23/02/2020 00:44

And bearing in mind that broken bones are a foreseeable injury from skiing, they should have plans in place, or they shouldn't be going.

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 23/02/2020 00:44

It's a ski-ing trip, they must have had risk assessments in place, and a kid with a late-stage (in terms of the length of the holiday) fracture must have been included in that risk assessment, surely to god?

I'd be in to see the Ht tomorrow and copies of the risk assessment and accident report is where I'd start...

safariboot · 23/02/2020 00:45

Completely unacceptable behaviour by the school. The staff placed their own personal convenience above your son's wellbeing.

LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 23/02/2020 00:45

Cross post @SnoozyLou - I mean, it's not without the bounds of possibility, is it?

lyralalala · 23/02/2020 00:46

Also the fact they didn't call you and ask you to meet at the airport stinks . He needed medical treatment and they prolonged that to a ridiculous degree.

jadey0885 · 23/02/2020 00:47

Sorry to hear this. I would complain to the school and speak with there governor

FeeFee832 · 23/02/2020 00:48

Bloody hell. I'd be fuming!

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 23/02/2020 00:48

I don't understand why your DS wouldn't have been able to fly. If it happened the day before the flight in the morning then surely there was enough time to seek medical advice and he could have flown with a cast and a sling. I don't know what country he was in but ski areas are generally very efficient with fractures because they get so many.

FeeFee832 · 23/02/2020 00:48

I think the teachers saw it as an inconvenience that you could deal with once home. They didn't want to stay clearly.

Awful.

lyralalala · 23/02/2020 00:50

I would also fully expect when you bring it up that the teacher will 'clarify' that what they meant was that they didn't believe it was damaged serious enough to go to hospital

Any teacher admitting they decided not to seek hospital treatment for a child that needed it for the sake on convenience is basically putting their career on the line

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