Knocked front teeth out at school

[ChrissieKeller61]

So I’ll try and keep this brief.
Child was playing on a raised platform, bit like decking in the absolute pouring rain. There was actually a sever weather warning that day.
So he falls. I get a phone call to pick him up and am handed his front teeth shorn off. Adult teeth.
We’ve had NHS treatment and they’ve capped them with composite filling. But he’s in on going pain. And this solution is temporary. Long term he’ll need veneers maybe even implants.
This going to be an ongoing cost for the rest of his life.
A few friends have suggested we see a solicitor. But who am I claiming against the local authority?

[UnexpectedItemInTheShaggingAre]

I’ve have four bridges for all my front teeth, and honestly the first two I got under 18 and the second two were done at the hospital and were free. The first lot are 17 years old, and the second lot are 12 nearly thirteen years one. It’s not going to cost a mad amount to fix

[Missillusioned]

I would sue. Dental treatment as an adult is expensive even for NHS patients. The school have insurance to cover this sort of thing.
Yes it was an accident, but a preventable one. Decking is not suitable for use as a playground in wet weather.

[ChrissieKeller61]

It is going to cost an arm and a leg actually

[TopBitchoftheWitches]

I can't read your photo unfortunately. As I asked previously, is your child not a NHS patient?

[FunkyFreida]

Second checking house insurance for legal assistance. I should imagine you would address the school in the first instance but you’d need advice on how to draft a legal letter. Is the school an Academy as in that case the LA wouldn’t be involved? It would be the Academy Trust who should have a website detailing their policies.

Absolutely I would sue in your position. Your poor lad, it must have been so painful and ongoing dentistry will be too.

I don’t let my DC on the decking in our garden when it’s wet. The school are in ‘loco parentis’ and should have foreseen it as dangerous in those weather conditions!

[Lexplorer]

How old is he? Are you sure that the children are allowed on there in wet weather? All our children know the equipment is out of bounds in bad weather as it's dangerous. Good on your school for letting the children out in all weathers though!

[JJPC]

Given how stretched our public services are I cringe at the thought of suing a school.

Sometimes accidents are just that and no one is to blame. It sounds like that’s the case here.

[UnexpectedItemInTheShaggingAre]

I’m telling you it probably doesn’t need to and that your child might be fine with standard nhs treatment.
Are you with a private dentist? Because given the nature of the injuries. (I have been having long term dental treatment since I was 10) I think NHS is probably the only affordable option.
Also if you’re looking at suing they might say that you are making yourself include additional and unnecessary expense by using private over nhs?
Just a thought - can’t remember so much of my degree or LPC and I decided the legal world wasn’t for me shortly after racking up a shit ton of student debt so don’t take my word as gospel, but something to perhaps consider.

[UnexpectedItemInTheShaggingAre]

Also I’m not sure if I’m right here, but if you sue the school. Surely the school subsequently has less money to teach and look after your kids effectively.
Just for perspective, If you sue them for just over 3k, that’s the cost of two meal time supervisors every day for the whole year. Or ten TA hours a week for the year. £3150 is my whole schools printing and resource budget for the year.
Can they afford to give you that money. They might have to, but I wonder if it would have a detrimental impact on the children at school?

[nuttymoon]

How long before the daily mail use this ?

[Appledeapp]

Ask the local authority to go out to the school to inspect the playground to see if it is safe or not. When my ds had an accident they did that and they told me it was safe and just a one off accident.

After that I decided to let go of any thoughts of taking the matter further because they were probably right in their conclusion.

Your situation is different and perhaps worth seeing what they say before you take it further.

[Panicmode1]

At our school, there is wooden raised decking which is out of bounds when it is wet or icy because the risk of falling onto the concrete below is too high.

If the school encourage wet play (ours also does), then they need to ensure dangerous equipment is not being used.

IF your child was aware that they should not be on the wooden decking in the rain, and played on it anyway, then that's one thing, but if they didn't and the school did nothing to prevent children playing on it, then yes, I would think you have a claim.

[Mamachanel]

You won't be liable for costs as the costs follow the cause. Ie the school/ local authority will pay for your legal costs. I sense you are not a lawyer and therefore would advise that you seek specialised legal advice particularly as you are suing on behalf of your child. Lawyers are professions and your child is entitled to have a professional look after the case. This will resolve by way of negotiation between lawyers and the decision of how much to settle for and whether to go into court, what medical evidence you need etc are all professional questions for a lawyer to advice you and your child on.

[Iusedtobeapartygirl]

YABVVVU

Accidents happen at schools every day. Children should be outside in all (or at least most) weather.

Why do have have to blame someone? It was an accident. What a terrible example to set to your child.

I know of a school that's being sued because a child was climbing where they shouldn't have been, fell and injured themselves. They had been told previously not to climb there. But apparently it's the school's fault.

I hate this blame culture. Sometimes things happen that are nobodies fault!

And just because you can't afford (or don't want to pay) the treatment does NOT mean that someone else should have to pay.

[ChrissieKeller61]

The report says 5 children were playing freely in the decking the person looking after them clearly saw no issue with children playing on a leave covered raised surface in the rain. @ Panicmode1
As for £3000 paying for dinner ladies. What about what £3000 would cover in my house? I’m a single mother.
I’ve used the NHS whilst he is a child. But currently I have three teeth with holes in because as an adult I cannot afford dental treatment. I am thinking of my child’s long term health. I took a child into school that morning with front teeth in no pain and incurring no life long expense and the school did not return him in the same condition

[ChrissieKeller61]

Iusedtobeapartygirl - my child was t doing something he shouldn’t have - it is their fucking fault

[Mamachanel]

If the school has been negligent in the care & supervision of the child then there is a right to sue. If the school aren't at fault then a lawyer would advise you not to sue. It's a question for the parent whether they wish to or not. Even if a parent didn't a child on reaching age 18 could sue within 3 years once they reach majority. This is the reason why schools have insurance. Sadly it's also how institutions learn, the school will no longer have children on a wet slippery surface after this.

[ChrissieKeller61]

And within days they’d reached that conclusion but my son will not suffer for what to me, my neighbors and others who’ve seen the decking were all in agreement shouldn’t be in the playground at all.
It’s quite scary just that someone so lacking is supervising children

[AJPTaylor]

Have a look at your household insurance, you may have legal cover. If not go to a decent solicitor. I agree with you in principle and it's essential that your child gets the best treatment available. That may well be implants and I doubt that is an nhs treatment.

[Frenchw1fe]

As dental care is barely provided in the UK these days all this sarcasm about the child bring an NHS patient is misplaced.
I would absolutely get legal advice. As you say your child will need expensive dental treatment for the rest of his life.
Decking is horrible stuff and both my dsis, my dgc and I have all slipped on it in wet weather.
My dbil works in a hospice and all the decking has been treated with special non slip strips.

[LizziesTwin]

Go to a solicitor’s, the school or local authority will have insurance, this is what it’s for. Having someone acting on your son’s behalf will make it less stressful for you as you will be able to concentrate on work and him, no need to make your life harder.

[Nacreous]

The quality of dental care on the NHS is not high enough that I would be satisfied that they would fix my child's teeth well enough. I had a friend who lost a tooth at 19 and the NHS "solution" was a denture.

There was no negligence in that case, but incidents like this are why organisations have insurance and a duty of care to those in their premises. I don't know if it would be shown to be negligent or not but I don't think you'd be wrong to try to claim back the costs you and he are likely to incur.

[ArthurMorgan]

I'm not sure where I stand on sueing the school, I wouldn't personally BUT then I knocked half of my front tooth out when I was a kid and it's been nothing but a giant pain in the arse, it was supposed to be crowned when I was 16 but the dentist refused to do it (was later sacked for negligence against someone else) and then I was too old to get anything done via NHS and now I can't get an NHS dentist so I pay for dental treatment and there's no way I've ever been able to possibly afford a crown / veneer etc. So I've had a (8+) temporary fillings for 30 years instead which after a while go black around the edge so it looks like my teeth are dirty when they're not or it falls out and I'm walking around with half a front tooth until I can pay for another one.

It's not a case of the kid should be on NHS, it's a lifelong case of aggro, self confidence and money.

[Rainallnight]

OP, I have so much sympathy for you. My DD was injured in pre-school last year and it’s just so shocking.

I posted a very similar thread to you and got similar responses. The ‘it’s just an accident’ brigade were out in force then too. I don’t think you really understand till it’s your child who comes out of school covered in blood.

In the end, we didn’t sue, because it turned out that there won’t be life-long issues arising from her injury so we weren’t worried about cost. But in your case there will be, and NHS dental treatment is so patchy and can itself be so costly, that I wouldn’t hesitate.

It would be paid for by insurance, so the whole thing about kids missing out is nonsense. Kids are meant to be safe in school.

As to who you sue, I’m not sure but the solicitor would advise you.

[ChrissieKeller61]

I’ve acknowledged it was an accident. But just as an example, Rio Tinto accidentally forgot to supply two members of staff to a maintenance site, one man did the job alone and was killed. Did everyone shrug their shoulders and say shit happens, no they did not the family were rightfully compensated for the families loss of earnings for the next 45 years.
Schools have a responsibility to minimise accidents. As do hospitals.
I wonder if the staff member had knocked their teeth out who’d be covering the cost of that and how many days off sick at full pay the school would be covering.