Private school negligence - personal injury

[MindfulBear]

WWYD?

My child was injured on school premises. Nasty gash to a limb. 6 stitches. Horrendous lumpy scar.

Requiring time off sports and to be careful for a few more months yet. Child is sports mad and was like a caged animal. Also impacted fitness which has been difficult given the pressures of the sporting season!

On inspection of where this happened there was some metal sticking out which should not have been and my child fell onto it.
It was an accident waiting to happen tbh.

The head mentioned they have told their insurer as well as filed a special H&Sreport. And removed the offending object.

Do we have recourse against the school for this injury, which was due to their negligence? And if so, what do I do about it?

A friend suggested I should instruct a lawyer to make a claim for damages / reduction in school fees.

I've no idea how tho or whether it would be worth the effort!!!!

Any experience or suggestions would be appreciated.

I am sorry to hear about your child's injury. I hope they recover fully. My sense is that it is not a great idea to sue a school while your DC attends there. Litigation will rupture the relation with the school, and undermine your child's experience and education. I would ask informally for a reduction in fees, without threatening litigation. If they refuse, and you decide to move schools because of this, I would then go to a lawyer. But it might not be so straightforward to get damages for minor injuries, assuming that the wound heals well. The contract you have with the school will have something to say about minor injuries. The lawyer will explain the likelihood of success.

Have you posted about this previously? It sounds familiar.

6 stitches is nothing, reduced activity for months is exaggerated.

No. I rarely post on MN. And certainly never on this topic. Nor have I elsewhere

Thanks for your dismissal!

Reduced activity is certainly not an exaggeration. But never mind.

And 6 stitches may be nothing to you. But we could see the bone so it was not nothing to us.

Thanks for your constructive comment @Hatcher

I think this is where I am at too. Ie we like the school on the whole so would rather not go down the litigious route.

Will discus with OH whether we might seek a reduction in fees as a gesture of goodwill instead. Or just leave it.

Why do you require a fee reduction as a “gesture of goodwill”?
It was an accident, it doesn’t sound as though there was any negligence on the school’s part so why are you immediately seeking to monitise it?

@MindfulBear This is relatively minor. At DDs school some play equipment collapsed (lots of dc avoided playing on it as it creaked too much) and it was referred to the H&S executive. The child involved had a life changing injury and got £millions. Deputy Head with responsibility for H&S moved on to another school and now a Head. So, if this isn’t H&S Executive territory I’m not sure litigation will get you more than the cost of litigation . It appears they were negligent but I would approach them to see if they will settle anything via fee reduction. It’s not good enough though and they should be looking at H&S concerns via regular walks and have a schedule of work. Anything worrying should be out of bounds. So yes, it’s their fault but being off games for weeks is excessive. If the accident scared their face that might be different. Are you staying at the school?

The school were negligent in the upkeep of their property. And it resulted in a horrific injury, which I hope there is a full recovery from. let's see if full mobility and strength returns. Hasn't yet. .
Luckily Child didn't catch their face on it nor lose a finger. And no I'm not exaggerating.

And yes school admitted their fault, put the area out of bounds and have now removed the problem. They. Also submitted a report to a health and safety regulator (they referenced it but I can't remember if it was fhe HSE)

Accidents happen,cannot understand why you are thinking like this? My daughter scalded her leg on a very overheated radiator at her grammar school,it never occurred to me to raise a complaint. The radiator was serviced,I was sent an apology,end of story!

If it went to HSE it’s not just a minor incident. There are rules about what needs reporting. So that makes compensation a possibility at a fee paying school. They will have insurance and an offer of compensation should be under discussion. Obviously a third party medical assessment would be required and not just what the OP asserts. However schools do have a H&S responsibility and it sounds like this accident could, and should, have been avoided.