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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:
lyralalala · 24/02/2020 17:07

We only sought treatment the next day. I can see how this could happen.

Presumably you didn't think "He needs hospital today, but we'll wait"? That's what happened in this case. Not a seemingly minor injury that later became problematic

EnidBlyton · 24/02/2020 17:09

Did you contact school op?

SnoozyLou · 24/02/2020 17:14

@lyralalala That's the bit, isn't it. If you knowingly denied your own child medical treatment for the best part of 2 days on the grounds it wasn't convenient, and he went to school and told the teacher, you'd be reported to social services (and rightly so). Yet no sanctions for a professional for doing the same thing?

They went as far as to bandage it. They had a fair idea.

Original poster
debsadoos123 · 24/02/2020 17:34

Hi, yes ive spoken with school and asked for a meeting. As yet no return call from the teacher in charge of the trip. Back at fracture clinic next monday x

OP posts:
EnidBlyton · 24/02/2020 17:40

best of luck op

Monstermummymum · 24/02/2020 17:53

Why on earth did they not phone you? I think you deserve a meeting to discuss what went on

AngelaScandal · 24/02/2020 18:14

Wagons being circled methinks

notimagain · 24/02/2020 18:19

Hope you get this sorted out to your satisfaction OP...

I am not sure if this will be of relevance to the school’s handling of this or not but I offer it anyway...

www.tuifly.com/en/service/gipsverband.html

If an airline has such a requirement in it’s Ops Manual it cannot usually be overridden by Doctors notes, or similar.

Good luck with this.

PurpleCrazyHorse · 24/02/2020 18:40

Of course accidents happen and I think you've absolutely got the right approach OP. I do hope you are able to change things so this doesn't happen to another child on a school trip.

We had a child break their arm at a residential camp we run. They simply tripped over, weren't complaining of too much pain and it didn't look deformed. Was looked at by a medical professional on the team and we kept an eye on them over night. Swelled right up by breakfast and they went straight to A&E in the morning. Parents were fully informed and luckily they didn't need an operation while they were away with us, it was put in a cast though. We got all the paperwork etc so they could take it to their local hospital, the parents spoke to their child too so they could determine how they felt and we were more than happy for them to collect their child early. They didn't as their child was really happy to stay. We facilitated a couple of fracture clinic visits with the same leader who went to A&E for consistency and ensured the child had pain relief as prescribed by the hospital. We have redundancy in our team precisely so we can deal with hospital visits and still ensure the other children are well cared for.

LochJessMonster · 24/02/2020 18:56

Quite frankly whether or not it was the best/logical/most convenient thing to do, it was completely against any risk assessment for a non qualified teacher to make that call.

Even if it was what you wanted -to get him home and then deal with it- it would NOT be protocol.

They are massively in the wrong and they know it.

capercaillie · 24/02/2020 19:03

I’m sure that this has been said but make sure you are documenting everything in writing. I would expect the school to have to do an investigation (if they don’t then, that’s even more of an issue).

123rd · 24/02/2020 19:07

Wow, it's bad that getting back to you wasn't first on the to-do list! I think somebody from the school would have called you as a courtesy, not waited for you to contact them.
Hope your son is feeling better very soon

Smelborp · 24/02/2020 19:16

If there’s a risk the bone might die as a result of a delay from the treatment I would seeking legal advice and potentially suing. This could lead to long term issues which your DS may need to have adjustments made for.

janemaster · 24/02/2020 19:54

Nobody has said that was a result of a delay in treatment, it may just be a rare complication of the break.

woodencoffeetable · 24/02/2020 20:09

Nobody has said that was a result of a delay in treatment

but it is one of the questions the op needs to ask at the next fracture clinic

werehavingafarmdance · 24/02/2020 20:12

I agree with a pp op. I'd go through all the facts with your DS and make a note of everything. If there is long lasting damage I'd absolutely be considering legal action to help support his recovery if there is any long term damage as a result of the delay in treatment.

Don't feel sorry for the teacher op, this is basic day one duty of care shit and they knew they needed to get him medical treatment. The only person you should feel sorry for is your poor DS. Absolutely disgraceful of them.

bakebeans · 24/02/2020 20:20

I would complain. That’s why you pay insurance and why the school take it out. Why did they seem to think he wouldn’t be able to fly? My daughter flew with a broken arm. They usually split the cast to allow for expansion on the plane

FuckPolitenessSSDGM · 24/02/2020 20:30

It sounds like he has fractured his scaphoid bone. It is notorious for delayed healing or non union because it has a poor blood supply. If it's suspected but doesn't show on initial x-rays, a&e would still have put him in a cast to be on the safe side as it's important to immobilise the joint to facilitate healing. If the fracture isn't displaced it often doesn't show on x-rays until it starts to heal. That's why they would want to image it again in 10 days. They should have taken him to a hospital for a cast to be put on. I would be absolutely furious.

Lemonyfuckit · 24/02/2020 20:45

OP firstly my sympathies to your poor son and I hope all is well. Having fractured my own arm as a child - at school - where similarly they didn't think it was very serious at the time so didn't send me home early - I went probably around 7 hours or so before I ended up getting a cast put on and it was excruciatingly painful - I remember just sitting wimpering with the pain all afternoon. I think you are being remarkably forbearing and whilst I appreciate you want to be reasonable I frankly agree with all the posters saying they would be going ballistic. I am actually shocked at the failings on the part of the school / teachers, I would say this is grossly negligent. They have seriously breached their duty of care to your son, and I would not be satisfied with an apology and 'lessons learned' or whatever, I would personally be taking this a lot further. Firstly they must have done a risk assessment for this trip and had plans and policies in place, and then just completely breached them. But at the most basic fundamental level, what person leaves a child in pain and without medical assistance when they clearly need it?! (Following a skiing accident where a child has been hurt a trip to the medical centre is such a complete no brainer that the mind boggles at the decisions this teacher took. And all the no flying stuff is complete BS, as again, a medical centre in a ski resort - they of course have means of applying a half cast or with a slit so you can fly).

janemaster · 24/02/2020 20:48

Lots of airlines say no flying within 24 or 48 hours of the fracture.

notimagain · 24/02/2020 21:06

Why did they seem to think he wouldn’t be able to fly? My daughter flew with a broken arm. They usually split the cast to allow for expansion on the plane

At the very real risk of sounding like a stuck record, and I apologise for that, but given frequent comments about “it’s ok to fly” it maybe needs stating again that the policy/decision depends on the airline, not just A&E or a Doctor.

I know some of the healthcare professionals here have voiced the opinion that flying post fracture is not a problem but regardless of that some airlines, having consulted their in house or contracted aviation medical specialists have decided they do not want to accept the possible risks of transporting passengers in casts in certain circumstances...

It seems for example TUI have one policy, no doubt Easyjet have another, BA possibly have another variant...the policy will be available on-line to customers via the airline’s T&Cs

SpaceDinosaur · 24/02/2020 21:28

Hold on.
It's Monday.
Have they not seen you today?

BeanTownNancy · 24/02/2020 22:16

Went on a school ski trip to the USA as a teenager and a classmate broke his arm on the last day. He had it splinted, strapped up and slinged (I remember the metal sling buckle setting off the metal detector) and he flew home like that and got a cast when he got back to the UK. Because, you know, the school wanted to take care of the kid...

gingerbiscuits · 24/02/2020 22:17

Wow. It's the end of the 1st day of school after the trip & you still haven't had a call back about something so serious?? I would be at the school in person tomorrow. They need to speak to you as a matter of urgency - your issue is NOT a trivial one!!

Apple23 · 24/02/2020 23:40

You should not be waiting for a call back to speak to the teacher in charge of the trip.

The headteacher should be speaking to them and then meeting with you. It is their (headteacher's) job to investigate what happened, not yours. If you asked to meet with the headteacher and the school's response was to say that the teacher in charge if the trip would call you, then the school are not taking this seriously.