Advice on thinking about suing my child’s school.

[questio]

My primary aged child was in school, walked past an interactive white board which had extremely sharp edges and it sliced in between his fingers, resulting in him having to go to the ER and having it glued and steri stripped and now bandaged up. He’s an elite dancer with a huge show coming up in 10 days, he tried training the evening after the accident but his wound split back open and he had to have it redone. He has been told no dancing for at least two weeks while it heals, this has really upset him, the thought of not being able to participate in a dance show he’s been training 12 hours a week + for the last 4 months has really put a dampener on his spirit. I emailed and asked the school to see the risk assessment on this whiteboard as why is it in a kids classroom if it’s that sharp. I didn’t get a reply email but the head rang me instead, saying they have removed it from the class room and contacted the company it’s from to return it as they were not aware it had sharp edges underneath. She was very apologetic and said they now have put the old one from the library in its place which has been checked and no sharp edges or any way to be a risk to injury and hopes this has reassured me.
Im not one to think about suing, I’ve never claimed against anything before but I’m considering speaking to some one, as this should have never happened in the first place. I’ve worked in schools and we risk assessed every item in that classroom before hand.
Yes I’m aware making a claim will not make my child’s hand heal any quicker and able him to get on that stage to complete his dance routine, but I feel more should of been done to prevent this from occurring and now because of their negligence I’m out of pocket due to dance subs and any dance moms will understand how expensive dance costumes, theatre tickets and all else that comes with it will understand.

any thoughts

is he a ballroom dancer (that requires him to hold hands with a partner?) If not, other than that, get the hand bandaged over the steri strips, ask the dance teacher to make some adjustments to the choreography so that he doesn’t have to lift anyone or support his own weight with that hand, no acro type moves and get on with it. Yes it’s an inconvenience but not the end of the world but I would be pretty pissed off of a dancer pulled out of a show 2 weeks before the performance for a cut hand unless it was sliced to the bone. No you can’t sue the school, that’s ridiculous.

Good moment to teach your son to be responsible for himself rather than looking for others to blame. Perhaps you could sue him for all that money you’ve lost?

You're being ridiculous, of course you shouldn't try and sue the school.

I understand it's extremely frustrating for your child. That's a life lesson in itself - shit happens.

Another lesson - don't faff about with stuff. It was a sharp edge underneath the smart board, it didn't jump out and stab him.

Your kid is just as responsible as whoever failed to run their hands under the whiteboard and check how sharp it was. Though I suspect he won't learn anything as you seem to think all the blame lies with the school.

If he's been training for this for 4 months and he's an "elite" dancer (primary school aged? Ok...), he can just mark for the next week while it heals, then still do the show. It's just a cut, I think you're being really overdramatic about it.
And yes I am a dance mum, kids still dance while managing actual injuries, not just a cut.

Probably better to post this on a US based forum

Have you sought legal advice already?

What sort of sum of money are your expecting to be awarded if successful in this legal action?

Are you planning on removing your child from the school whilst pursuing the legal action? Or are you comfortable still sending him whilst this is ongoing.

How will you fund your legal costs?

Do you PA insurance for your son?

How could the school have prevented this accident?

The questions go on.

Did you get it looked at by a HCP? I'm not saying you necessarily should have but it's an awkward area and that doesn't look like the most effect way to have it bandaged to let it heal. I probably would have used a pad and micropored the fingers together to stop movement.

No dancing for two weeks is a ridiculous overreaction for a minor hand wound. He needs the fingers either side of the wound buddy strapped for a few days to stop it reopening, otherwise crack on as normal.

The injury is minor, the school have taken the necessary steps to stop it happening again and your son is old enough not to be running his hands along the wall. I don’t think you have any basis for a legal claim here - the person who told you he couldn’t dance for two weeks is the one who has put you out of pocket unnecessarily!

My primary aged child was in school, walked past an interactive white board which had extremely sharp edges and it sliced in between his fingers

How does walking past the whiteboard result in an injury? He must have done more than walk past it.

It depends what country you're in. How does walking past a white board lead to getting sliced between fingers? You need to get the truth on what actually happened first.

Silly . Just seems like a money grab .

It will be dealt with by their insurer. Who will fight this nonsense tooth and nail.

As other have said. The IP has underplayed how her son’s fingers were in contact with a white board. It didn’t jump out on him

If it's a state school you'd be taking action against the local authority, not the school. On MN schools can do no wrong so I think you're asking in the wrong place. However, having had a child who had a very serious head injury at school, when I was a Governor, and having gone through some of the process but having to withdraw, I'd say you will just add a huge amount of stress to the situation, and the case will go on perhaps for years (you might also find that staff in the school will be unkind to your boy as a result).

Also on a practical level, they usually look for long term injury that damages functioning, and it although it looks nasty I am sure it will be ok in a couple of weeks. If not, then think again, you can get a quick phone call advice session with one of the major personal injury solicitors quite easily. But yeah, I'd say walk away from this one, and not because the school can do no wrong, but its just too much hassle and upset for what does appear to be a minor if unpleasant injury.

Tape the two fingers either side of the cut together then he won't split it open again when he's dancing. Simples!

That accident sounds bizarre, and has left me wondering if he did it deliberately maybe to get out of the competition?

I have seen some adverts on "how to sue your child's school if they get injured" ! Oh well.

Do you know how much lawyers fees are? No no win no fee lawyer wouldn’t touch it as the payout even if you proved negligence (which you would need to to get a payout) is unlikely to exceed a couple of hundred - less than the bill for your first appointment.

I think it is really for you to have personal accident cover insurance for your DS? Had it been a normal kid it wouldn’t have been a big deal as not a permanent injury.

The school should have insurance and if you are out of pocket for medical expenses then I think it is appropriate to claim for reimbursement.
But not for dance expenses

To have cut himself between his fingers he must have been messing with the board. You wouldn't cut there just by walking past.

I feel there is more info than the op is disclosing

You have a very unrealistic view of how the legal system works OP, you can’t just ‘sue’ someone, you have to find a solicitor, pay them thousands of pounds, assuming they’ll even take the case because they think you have a good chance of winning. LAs also have teams of lawyers.
Also courts don’t just throw out rulings and damages for minor injuries, you need to prove it has a very major effect on your child’s life.
Missing a dance show is sad but absolutely not worth taking to court. The amount you’ve paid for fees and costumes etc would be nothing compared to what you’d have to pay to ultimately lose a court case/have it thrown out immediately.

What was he doing touching the board?

This.

Unless he's walking on his fingertips. If he'd slashed his hand and needed surgery or actual stitches I could understand being a bit frustrated but how on earth can't he dance in 10 days?

Really don’t see why he can’t continue to dance with two fingers strapped together.