Daughters had an Accident on Friends Trampoline!!! Now What???

AsknAnswer

Thats what I think as well tbh but my parents are now saying that if I don"t sue they will!!!

Ok...how exactly do your parents plan to bring a case if you choose not to sue? Unless they hold some form of legal responsibility to the child (Guardianship for example), a solicitor won't touch it. Only a person who has legal, not moral responsibility to a minor can instigate a solicitor to legal action on the child's behalf. A solicitor will simply tell your parents to go away, and ask that the person who has legal responsibility for the child go to see him/her instead if they wish to bring a case.

Secondly, if compensation was sought, I have a very strong instinct that you won't get very far. The courts are increasingly, seeing these claims for what they are.

Your friend used to be a childminder. I don't see the relevance of this. She wasn't childminding your child and I'm assuming there was no contract between the two of you. Even if she was, I don't have enough fingers to count the amount of times my children have had an accident at the childminders of some description. The same accidents they would have whilst in my care. Kids have accidents, fact of life I am afraid.

She was not acting in any official capacity for you, just a friend who had your daughter at her house. She CANNOT claim on her house insurance. If her house is council housing then it is insured by the local authority, not her. She may have house contents insurance. This is to cover the cost of replacement items that become damaged, not to pay for compensation of personal injury.

Aside from the legal side of matters there is the emotional side to consider: crap sticks. Word gets out. People will hear about it and people talk. You may find if legal action is brought that your children will be strongly "outed" by other parents and their children discouraged from having a friendship with your children. IF you are prepared to sue a friend, you would be prepared to sue a parent whom was merely an accquaintance. They won't want your kids near theirs for fear of something happening and them ending up in the courts. How do you suppose your children would feel about this? If you are considering your daughters long term furture, you may want to consider lack of future friends as an integral part of that. No friends, picked on at school, any furture childminders in the area who won't take on your kids no matter how much money you have.

So you go through this, your claim gets thrown out (as I imagine it will - it's simply ridiculous) and your children end up with no friends, you are ostrachised from your community. So in the end you have nothing left at all. No compo payout and no friends. Is it worth all of that?

MrsE_2

loobylou2 wrote: »

Oh please, I think you should wake up yourself!!! Of course I"d take my eyes off them periodically and do things like go to the toilet but, I do keep a much closer eye on my daughter when she is playing with her older brother and sister because I know how rough they can be when they are all together. Do you have children???

If you want to call the shots when shes with a sitter, PAY FOR IT!

You used your friend as a free baby sitter & now you are talking about how a closer eye could have been kept on her & you would not have allowed the sides to gap open:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

I hope nobody EVER sits any of your kids again, its the least you deserve.

MrsE_2

loobylou2 wrote: »

No I'm sorry too, I think that YOU need to re read my posts from the beginning before you start accusing me of things which are incorrect. Just because my parents live 70 miles away they are still my daughters grandparents and I want her to have a good relationship with them. They are the only grandparents she has.

You were calling them money grabbers on the other page:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

geri1965_2

AsknAnswer wrote: »

She CANNOT claim on her house insurance. If her house is council housing then it is insured by the local authority, not her. She may have house contents insurance. This is to cover the cost of replacement items that become damaged, not to pay for compensation of personal injury.

You are wrong here, a household contents policy will cover you for legal liabilities to third parties under the legal liability section. It will not automatically pay out, the claim will be looked at on it's merits and either settled or defended as the insurers see fit.

dontknowwhatimdoing

MrsE wrote: »

It would occur to me to sue:eek:

But.....would you really, in the end?

And, if things were reversed.....and you thought you may be sued by a friend?

Scary thought, to my mind!

MrsE_2

dontknowwhatimdoing wrote: »

But.....would you really, in the end?

And, if things were reversed.....and you thought you may be sued by a friend?

Scary thought, to my mind!

That was a typo, I missed out n't

I do that now & then:o

AsknAnswer

geri1965 wrote: »

You are wrong here, a household contents policy will cover you for legal liabilities to third parties under the legal liability section. It will not automatically pay out, the claim will be looked at on it's merits and either settled or defended as the insurers see fit.

Not necesserily. Although some policies include liabilities or legal family protection, it is not an automatic inclusion in all policies. I certainly don't have it.

milliebear00001

I cannot believe you are thinking of sueing over this! It was clearly an accident. This is a friend good enough for you to entrust the care of your three year old daughter to, and yet you are considering sueing her?!

What do you gain from sueing her exactly? I suggest you get some backbone and tell your parents where to get off. It is NOTHING to do with them. I am pretty sure that your parents have absolutely no legal standing in this and would be unable to bring a claim without you anyway.

You are clearly uncomfortable with this, and with good reason - it is not morally justifiable in any way to make money off the back of a friend doing you a favour, and off the unfortunate accident your daughter has suffered.

bright_side

I haven't read all the replies but have to say that the fact your friend was a registered childminder is completely irrelevant here - if your daughter was at paid-for child care premises and this happened it would be a completely different matter - but she wasn't. I've rarely heard anything so ridiculous.

blackcoffee

the grand parents are going to look greedy !!!!!!s suing without the mums consent ? It will get laughed out of court wont it ?

If the mum sues, then in my eyes she looks the greedy one !!

in a case today a family have had to payback £25k for the loss of thier son, who drowned in a holiday camp pool, it was an accident !!! why are the holiday camp responsible for the care of an unsupervised young boy? I hope all the American lets sue who ever milarky is going to end ! Its ridiculous !

i think if the op had just checked previous posts on here, before posting, she would of realised the response she would of got, no one likes the now culture that is being created in this county, SUE SUE SUE !. a little common sense would of solved her obvious now upset!!