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

*Chattie*

How much do your parents think a broken arm is worth, £500, £1000 or you not able to hold your head up in the neighbourhood, or even worse your children being ignored when it comes to being asked to play with friends.

jamtart6

Ivrytwr3 wrote: »

OK, it is all well and good people saying don't sue and your friend saying she feels bad about it. My question would be:

why was she not supervising?

Was it a momentary lapse? ie did she nip to the loo or was she letting them get on with it while she did something else?


She isn't the greatest friend if she left them playing unsupervised. Paid or not she accepted the responsibility of looking after your most cherished possession and if your child is going to suffer because of this long term then perhaps some monetary value should be awarded.

I don't agree with this. I frequently went to play at friend's houses and was never supervised by their parents!

loobylou2

Thanks for the replies everyone. Its really interesting to hear what everyone has to say. Obviously I"m just very upset about what has happened at the moment and I agree with other posters who have said that my parents aren"t helping. I"m back at the hospital on wednesday with my daughter and so will see what the surgeons have to say then, I might also have a word with my friend about the situation, explain that I"m not blaming her and its nothing personal and try to find out where she would stand on something like this.

jamtart6

loobylou2 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies everyone. Its really interesting to hear what everyone has to say. Obviously I"m just very upset about what has happened at the moment and I agree with other posters who have said that my parents aren"t helping. I"m back at the hospital on wednesday with my daughter and so will see what the surgeons have to say then, I might also have a word with my friend about the situation, explain that I"m not blaming her and its nothing personal and try to find out where she would stand on something like this.

I think having a word about it, is as bad as sueing her. I don't think I'd ever want to speak to you again if it were me!!

Hope all goes well with the little one on Wednesday

Ivrytwr3

jamtart6 wrote: »

I don't agree with this. I frequently went to play at friend's houses and was never supervised by their parents!

I wouldn't dare NOT supervise! When we have kids over, if they are in the garden i'm in there with them, if they are running around playing, i'm running around with them. The child involved is 3 years old, certainly too young to be left unsupervised.

Just my opinion.

cyclingyorkie

i sued the lorry driver who knocked me off my bike - it took nearly 2 years and was a thoroughly depressing process! (And he was guilty!)

Don't sue - and have stern wordswith your parents! Good luck at the hospital!

jamtart6

Ivrytwr3 wrote: »

I wouldn't dare NOT supervise! When we have kids over, if they are in the garden i'm in there with them, if they are running around playing, i'm running around with them. The child involved is 3 years old, certainly too young to be left unsupervised.

Just my opinion.

Ah times have changed. Bring back the 80's!!

I don't think they need to be supervised all the time, but I do agree 3 is probably too young to leave alone. might feel diff when I have kids

adouglasmhor

Ivrytwr3 wrote: »

OK, it is all well and good people saying don't sue and your friend saying she feels bad about it. My question would be:

why was she not supervising?

Was it a momentary lapse? ie did she nip to the loo or was she letting them get on with it while she did something else?


She isn't the greatest friend if she left them playing unsupervised. Paid or not she accepted the responsibility of looking after your most cherished possession and if your child is going to suffer because of this long term then perhaps some monetary value should be awarded.

Sometimes kids get injured even when there is an adult on hand. It only takes seconds for this to happen. So what if the friend nipped to the loo, had to answer a phone or clean up after another child, no one died, a young child will heal up better than an adult and the parent who originally posted seems to have their head on straight. I remember loads of kids with arms or legs in plaster when I was growing up – none of them fortunately had life long damage

There is nothing to suggest that the child is going to suffer long term form this yet, just speculation, which may actually put doubts and worry into peoples heads.

zzzLazyDaisy

WestonDave wrote: »

With a 3 year old you have a long time to make a claim for compensation as if I recall correctly the limitations don't start to run until she is 18. Concentrate for the time being on getting her well, and if you need to consider compensation then do it in a calm atmosphere once you know the facts. You will in any event get very little just for pain etc, most of the bigger claims come from loss of earnings or requirements for carers etc. Taking a claim is also not to be done lightly as she will have to undergo all sorts of additional medical examinations by expert witnesses to produce reports explaining the damage.

This is excellent advice.

Firstly your parents cannot sue on behalf of your child, only you can do that.

Secondly the poster who said you cannot sue your friend because you had not paid her to look after your child is wrong. She had care of your child, and failed to ensure that the netting was secured, which is negligence.

IF your friend has house insurance she will be insured for this event, but not everyone has house insurance.

There is every possibility that your child will make a full recovery . My son suffered bad compound fractures in his leg and elbow in an accident. Both his arm and leg needed pinning, and he was on crutches for ages (not easy when your elbow is also in plaster!). But he recovered and the scars are not noticable - in fact until I read this post I'd not thought about it for years.

Finally, as stated above, the three year limitation period does not start to run until she is 18. If she suffers long term complications, and is going to need ongoing therapy, assistance, and heaven forbid if it subsequently affects her ability to earn a living, there is plenty of time to consider legal action.

HOWEVER there are some initial steps that should be taken now, to protect your friend. Your friend should notify her insurance NOW that there has been an accident that MAY result in a claim. This is important because if she doesn't do this and a claim is made later, it could invalidate her policy (and you don't want to her to pay personally, do you?). Also remember that people change their insurances, and several years down the line she may not even remember who her insurer was at the time.

The other thing to do is keep safely any written evidence - doctors letters, hospital reports etc, and also ask your OH to write a short account of what happened, what was said, etc, and sign and date it, and put it with the other papers. This is just in case.

Hopefully your child will recover, and as other posters have said, accidents happen. It is only if the long term consequensces are likely to be ongoing and/or severe that you need to think about legal action.

not.to.me

As has been said, I would not sue, as a mum I know kids get hurt doing the most basic fun stuff.
Tell your family to just back off, I think you have 3 years to sue, so whats the rush. If your little one is going to have long term problems it may be worth talking to your friend about a claim on her insurance, to cover any cost's to help your child. But again she was not a paid child minder, just a friend helping out. If it was me, I would feel bad as it occured on "my watch".
Your mum and dad are just upset, they will calm down.