Legal Question in Personal Injury in Ohio
Open Gym basket ball personal injury
In an open Gym bunch of kids gathered together playing basket ball with some parents standing by back in Feb, 2007. At one point, everyone tried to catch the ball and fell to the floor. One boy got an broken leg. Half year later, the boy's parent called me saying my boy bumped into her boy and caused the broken leg. After the insurance they paid out of their pocket $1700. They wanted me to compensate their out of pocket expenses plus the expense on taking care of the boy, sending and picking the boy back and forth from school and the compensation for the boy's suffering.
My boy said someone bumped into him and he fell off to the ground. He did not bumped into that injured boy. At the accident scene, no police report was filed.
What should I do?
Thank you very much
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Open Gym basket ball personal injury
I realize it is now a week after you posted the original question, so hopefully this isn't too late.
Initially I would have a few questions about the situation. Are the parents going after anyone else for compensation, or just your son? Particularly if they are just trying to get money from you, why do they believe your son specifically was at fault?
As far as what you should do, my first advice is to speak with a lawyer to more thoroughly discuss the accident and your options.
From my point of view though, based just on what you have stated about the situation, I would refuse to pay them anything. If they truly believe your son is at fault, they can file a suit against you to try to recover their damages. In that instance though, they will need to prove your son was liable for their child's injury.
On the other hand of course is the "nuisance" value. If they do decide to try to sue you, will you spend more money trying to defend the suit than you would just paying them in the first place?
It is because of this balancing that I strongly suggest contacting an attorney to discuss the situation. Many lawyers offer free consultations to help you decide whether to employ their services or not. In your case, this may be a wise thing to do.
If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me.