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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
Toddlerteaplease · 23/02/2020 05:55

@nachthexe a fracture is exactly the same as a break!

pussycatinboots · 23/02/2020 06:03

I'd be bloody angry that he was left in pain - they didn't know if it was fractured or not, so applying a bandage was down right negligent.
Get some legal advice.
I hope he has no long term problems from this.

Penyu · 23/02/2020 06:06

I am also a teacher who has led ski trips in the past. Unless there was a gp accompany the trip (I have had parents along for example, some doctors, once a neurosurgeon! 😳) Then you can strongly assume that none of the staff was sufficiently medically trained to make that decision.
Shocking.
This is why the school should have trip insurance. If they would be left short staffed due to a teacher staying behind,I would expect a member of leadership to fly to them to help them home.
At the VERY LEAST they should have fully informed you.
(I actually can't believe they were that honest with you.) I hope that teacher has Union backing. I would be seriously questioning their decision-making ability and the trip leader needs to be held accountable for this.😳

Penyu · 23/02/2020 06:12

And yes, you need to make a complaint.
I totally understand how hard it is to lead school trips, I've been doing these for years. I have seen the shift in accountability and paperwork, but honestly, there is no excuse for this level of incompetence.
Presumably there was a ski company in charge of the trip? They would have had a rep there etc? There would definitely have been more than one teacher there. The mind actually boggles.
The school leadership need to be aware of what happened here.

takeyourrubbishhome · 23/02/2020 06:17

I’m not sure what I think about this - there are certainly things they have done wrong, not contacting you immediately being the most obvious, and there is a conversation you need to have with the school about this. I’m wondering if it’s possible that the severity and pain increased between the incident and him getting home (i.e. he seemed ok for the first day then they were rushing to get home?). If he was very obviously in pain immediately after then he needed to be seen, but perhaps it didn’t seem like a break, they don’t always. I would probably have wanted to collect from the airport and I would be furious that I didn’t know what had happened. was he not in contact with you himself?

SubordinateThatClause · 23/02/2020 06:24

Are any of them medically qualified? They had no idea what further health risks a flight with a broken bone could have caused your son... bleeding internally, swelling, risk of blood clots.

I would be absolutely bloody livid. This is what the travel insurance is for. YADNBU.

LangSpartacusCleg · 23/02/2020 06:37

Teacher here. I am fuming on your behalf!

  1. Go to school tomorrow - ask to see the head. Say you will wait if necessary.
  2. Ask for copies of the risk assessments. If they cannot provide them, ask why not. They should have been done before the trip. If they were not done, that is a monumental flashing red banner (bigger than a flag). I really can’t conceive of them not having done this.
  3. Review the risk assessment. What does it say about your son’s situation? Did they follow the protocols laid out?
  4. If yes, complain because they were clearly inadequate. If no, why the hell not?
  5. Explain precisely what the teacher told you when you collected your child. Ask the head what they intend to do. Ask if this is something they are reporting to the governors. Ask if this is something they are reporting to Ofsted (might be a stretch).
  6. Take notes in the meeting. To keep you on track, go in with your questions. Ask questions and listen to answers. Your response should come later in writing. Do not commit to anything on the day or verbally.
wrinkledimplelover · 23/02/2020 06:38

Did the teachers speak the language of where they were? I'm wondering if that could be a reason they didn't seek proper help? Although to be honest they've been so frank about their incompetence I guess they'd have mentioned it if they couldn't?!

Unless they were in a country without decent hospitals - which isn't the countries schools go skiiing in in Europe - there's no reason at all for him not to have been seen by a medic.

And I'm pretty shocked that posters would send their kids on ski trips and then prefer them to be sent home without medical treatment just so their child could be home with them. Skiing is a risky sport. If you don't trust the medical services around the resort (which are more specialised in ski injuries than anywhere in the U.K.!) then your child should not go skiing with school - or you should volunteer to go with the trip.

Whichoneofyoudidthat · 23/02/2020 07:03

My daughter was left for a couple of days with a fractured wrist. My fault, not anyone else's.

My view is to allow a minor to fly home with a suspected fracture, well, that's my decision to make. Not theirs. So at the very least I'd have expected a phone call, and I'd have expected to be able to speak with my child to determine the next course of action.

KidCaneGoat · 23/02/2020 07:07

Oh my god no! I’d be fucking fuming! Definitely complaint by phone and then followed up in writing

3luckystars · 23/02/2020 07:11

#1 They should have called you.

This is absolutely awful. Your poor son. They should be ashamed.

bagsofbats · 23/02/2020 07:29

My daughter has also broken her wrist skiing with us this week. The fracture was immobilised with a slab if plaster (as you can't fly with a full cast) and professionally bandaged. She was in alot of pain. This is what we take out insurance for, I can't imagine no having sought medical advice.

PermanentlyFrizzyHairBall · 23/02/2020 07:30

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

I think this.

Oly4 · 23/02/2020 07:32

I’d be furious and would also consider suing them! It’s hugely negligent of them

Yummymummy2020 · 23/02/2020 07:38

I’d be so annoyed. Not to be dramatic but i agree there could have been problems over him not getting medical attention. If he was told not to fly it would probably be for good reason! He could have gotten a clot or god knows what issues from the lack of care. And at the end of the day, the school shouldn’t bring them abroad if they are not willing to look after them properly over there if anything happens. I’d be putting in a serious complaint and questioning the judgement of whoever made such a stupid decision to not seek care for him. Aside from anything else they openly said he had severe pain and they didn’t even contact you!!! I wouldn’t trust them with my child again. I actually never heard the like of it usually people are over the top careful with kids on trips for fear of not doing enough if they get ill or injured and then they get in trouble! This makes me so mad to hear about!!!

JudyCoolibar · 23/02/2020 07:47

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

Surely if those are the alternatives no responsible parent would insist on the child going without treatment? As pointed out, the delay risked further damage which might have been irreversible.

cordeliavorkosigan · 23/02/2020 07:48

Yes - not getting medical attention did NOT mean that he wasn't risking flying when it was not medically advised, because not hearing the advice doesn't mean the advice doesn't apply.

They suspected a fracture, and they knew that if it was fractured it was not safe to fly - so they ... just didn't bother to find out. Meaning that not only did your son take the risk of flying, he didn't have pain relief and there wasn't a chance to find out more about how unsafe flying was in his particular situation.
I'd probably be taking this further somehow, as pp have advised above, and I guess you should be very glad that he is OK, no clotting/ swelling /complications from flying (unless these are there and you haven't said, or they don't know)

sonypony · 23/02/2020 07:51

Your poor DS that must have been so horrible for him. I'd be absolutely furious. Huge safeguarding concerns there. Hope he's OK now? I'd take this further. Imagine what they would have done if you had sent him to school like that for similar reasons.....

boatyardblues · 23/02/2020 07:52

If they would be left short staffed due to a teacher staying behind,I would expect a member of leadership to fly to them to help them home.

Similarly, the OP or another relative/trusted adult could have gone out to wait with OP’s son given that it happened the day before. To not bother informing the parents or getting medical assessment or treatment? 😮 Appalling.

GnomeDePlume · 23/02/2020 07:52

First and foremost they should have got your DS proper medical attention. Getting a bandage indicates they knew he needed treatment.

The decision about whether he would then be fit to fly was a medical one. Not a teacher one, not a parental one.

The teacher chose convenience above everything else. They shouldnt be leading school trips as their priorities are all wrong.

FabulouslyElegantTits · 23/02/2020 07:55

Did he fracture his wrist (a) yesterday morning and fly and you picked him up yesterday afternoon (so a period of 10hrs or so) ... or was it (b) the day before and therefore over 24hrs before he flew home?

A) gave them ample time to get it treated and him fly home as scheduled, I imagine hospitals near ski resorts manage breaks/fractures quickly and efficiently. This would be very wrong.

B) If he did it a few hours before the flight, I can see their train of thought. I hope they gave him lots of pain relief though, they also should have called you.

JudyCoolibar · 23/02/2020 07:56

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.

In that situation my first concern would undoubtedly be my child. I would be pleased that the staff had got him medical care at the earliest opportunity, and I certainly wouldn't be insisting that he go without treatment to avoid the possibility of delay in flying home. These teachers didn't even know if it actually would cause delay. I strongly suspect the motivation was, as much as anything, that they didn't want to have to leave a staff member behind with him till his parents got there.

PristineCondition · 23/02/2020 07:57

Id be furious! They have denied a child medic care, I'd be getting legal advice tbh

Cupcakegirl13 · 23/02/2020 07:58

This was totally not their call to make , they should have called you. Yes it’s a total pain in the arse if he had ended up in hospital but the thought of him being in so much pain untreated for so long is much worse.

UpsideRound · 23/02/2020 08:04

As a teacher I think I’ve misjudged about 5/6 broken wrists. The kids been waving their arm around with friends, or not wanting to miss a football match with friends etc. Then when they relax at home time and the distraction goes they realise it is more painful.

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