Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

Son's arm broken at school

My son was standing at school, during recess/ 10 minute morning break. A ''friend'' of my son's put my son in a ''head lock'' and pinned my son's right arm behind his back. Another boy jumped on the ''friend's back, and all three fell to the ground. The ''friend'' fell directly onto my son's left arm, breaking my son's left arm. There were supervisors on duty, on campus, but did not see the accident. I feel these boys that jumped on my son, are responsible for the broken arm as well as the school for not supervising properly. The school sent me a denial/rejection letter for the claim I submitted, which was all the medical bills for my son's broken arm. The letter had in bold black letters ''WARNING'' me if I pursued this matter in court, that the school would sue me for the school's defense costs, for the lawyer they will have to hire and the court fees. I still feel they are responsible for the bills for the broken arm. What should I do?


Asked on 8/25/07, 6:17 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Robert L. Bennett Law offices of Robert L. Bennett

Re: Son's arm broken at school

I thoroughly agree with Mr. Roth.

While it was unfortunate, it would be difficult to blame the school. Earlier in my life, I was a substitute teacher, and I can tell you that it is very hard to watch dozens of children, and supervise them all. No matter how careful the supervisors were, they can't catch every incident of "horseplay".

You might want to try to negotiate for medical bills, but not for "pain and suffering" suffered by your son.

As Mr. Roth points out, you might try to find an attorney who will take this on a contingency basis, but that is unlikely.

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Answered on 8/28/07, 11:12 am
Mitchell Roth MW Roth, Professional Law Corporation

Re: Son's arm broken at school

They cannot recover for their legal fees, but if they prevail they will be entitled to their court costs, which may run as high as a few thousand dollars. If you haven't already done so you must file a statutory notice of claim to protect the right to sue a public school. That being said, it will be difficult to prevail against the school if they had appropriate supervision but just didn't see the problem before there was time to prevent it. The parents of the children may well be an empty well. Have the case reviewed by an injury lawyer. If a qualified lawyer is willing to take the case on contingency, then go for it, otherwise forget it.

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Answered on 8/28/07, 2:10 am


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