4 year old horrific injury at nursery school we want to claim

[timdog]

Hi all my beautiful son Winston sustained a horrific injury in the care of his nursery school. He's 4 years old and a handsome boy this has disfigured him and we are yet to know the long term medical issues this may have, it could require lots of dental work as his teeth might not come through. This happened in January 2019.

Whilst we understand this was an accident it still happened in the care of the nursery school. He came down on a door frame and smashed his teeth the wood was embedded in his jaw bone and 3 of his front teeth half of the front top had to be removed under general anaesthetic. It caused a lot of stress to Winston and of course us.

I have attached images before during and after.

My question to people and lawyers/solicitors here is could we make a claim, and how would be best we proceeded with this.

We have a made peace with the Nursery however we are still upset with them, this happened in their care and is horrific for the poor lad and me and my wife.

They should kd be insured against this. He has one half term left there, then he goes to big school.

We are concerned the dental treatment may cost a lot. And also it might effect his mental well being and career opportunities in later life.

Thanks in advance

Tim Elliott

[efpom]

I am sorry for your trouble.
The starting point is that not every accident that occurs gives a right to a remedy.

To bring a claim for negligence, which is what this is, you would have have evidence to prove:
a) There was a duty of care - Answer here. Yes.
b) Was the damage that occurred a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the defendant' conduct. Answer here. Don't know.

Don't know at b) is because while you show the damage, and the potential consequences of that damage - which goes to the quantum of damage, you do not describe the details of how the accident occurred except to say "he came down on a door frame".

You did not witness the accident, so you are, therefore, reliant on what others say about the question below.

How did he come down on the door frame?

May your son make a full recovery!

[charitynjw]

b) Was the damage that occurred a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the defendant' conduct. Answer here. Don't know.

Don't know at b) is because while you show the damage, and the potential consequences of that damage - which goes to the quantum of damage, you do not describe the details of how the accident occurred except to say "he came down on a door frame".

You did not witness the accident, so you are, therefore, reliant on what others say about the question below.

How did he come down on the door frame?

Imho, I agree wih efpom

Would the reason for the injury have been reasonably foreseeable to a 'reasonable person'?
(At the time of the injury, that is....not with the benefit of hindsight)

I too wish your son a full & speedy recovery.

[Setmefree3]

Implants are usually only available privately and are expensive. They're sometimes available on the NHS for patients who can't wear dentures or whose face and teeth have been damaged, such as people who have had mouth cancer or an accident that's knocked a tooth out.

Maybe costs would be met under the accident.

According to the Childcare Act (2006), children attending any educational institution including nursery are owed a duty of care by the teachers and other staff members to ensure that they are safe from injury whilst under their care. If there is a breach of duty of care resulting in an injury, the child’s parent or guardian is entitled to file a compensation claim for the child’s injuries. Common Factors That Lead To Accidents In A Nursery

Below is a list of examples of accidents in a nursery that can happen but the number of factors that can lead to accidents is extensive.

• Defective areas within the school premises, whether indoors or outdoors.
• Defective equipment such as toys, chairs, desks and other indoor furniture used by children.
• Unsupervised play time or sporting activities.
• Poorly maintained outdoor playground equipment.
• Food poisoning due to poor hygiene or improper food preparation.
• Slips, trips or falls due to spillages or badly maintained surfaces.
• Any accidents in the classroom or outside that happen due to lack of supervision.

[sarahangius0]

Really sorry to hear such a terrific incident to your son!
The main points that you need to get cleat before go for the claim are that:
1) The evidence of the incident that delivers your incident clearly
2) Photos of the incident
3) The third party details (address, phone number, etc)
4) you should also have a witness
5) The injured part of your son, it will help to make medical negligence claim as well.

All of the above points are very important to avoid failure of your claim.

[charitynjw]

Also, many schools etc publish various 'policies' on their websites.
Even if they don't, you should be able to ask for the relevant one(s).
It may be an idea to secure copies & compare to the way in which the incident occurred.

[Peridot]

Hi Timdog,
Sorry to hear of your son's unfortunate accident. As other's have mentioned to be successful in any claim for damages as a result of the injuries it would be necessary to show that the nursery had been negligent in looking after your son. Genuine accidents do happen so the real questions would be how exactly the accident happened, was the accident something that could have been foreseen and therefore avoidable with the correct policies and procedures for supervision or safety factors in place (for example anti slip rugs if this was a slip/trip accident and he area was known to be slippy)? Did the nursery have risk assessments in place relating to the sort of accident circumstances and were they following their own policies at the time of the accident?
As you can see it is not as straightforward as saying my son had an accident so can we claim, I'm afraid.

So if we can establish that the nursery had been negligent in some way which as a result of their negligence it was reasonably foreseeable that an accident of this type may occur then it would be perfectly reasonable for a claim to be made. As a parent you can take the claim on your son's behalf as his litigation friend. If you were then successful any funds would be held for your son once he was over 18. There are circumstances when some of the funds can be accessed for his health and welfare prior to that time but probably jumping the gun a bit going into that at this stage. In addition your son has until his 21st birthday to bring a claim himself so 3 years after his 18th.

Unfortunately with dental injuries in minors it can be some time before it can be established whether the adult teeth will be affected so if a claim was brought it would be some considerable time before it is finalise but any private treatment costs could be sought as part of any settlement in the future.

It may be sensible to seek some legal advice from a personal injury specialist at this stage so that you can be clear what would have to be shown to prove the nursery had been negligent and also to confirm what you can claim for and therefore keep records of for the future should your son decide to claim at a later date.

If you could give us a little more detail surrounding the circumstances of the accident we may be able to give you some more pointers but in the meantime do keep a record of what has happened, costs incurred (including receipts where available), appointments and travel as well as any time off you or your partner have had to take him to appointments.

If you do pursue a claim then his dental/medical records will be requested and it will be necessary for him to see a dental specialist for a report to be prepared down the line, but as I mentioned it may be some time before a final prognosis can be given. Hopefully there won't be any longer term issues but until his adult teeth come through it may be difficult for an expert to say categorically so the claim is likely to carry on for some years if the injuries were such he may have issues in the future.

Hope this helps and please do give a little more information on the accident circumstances if you wish.