Legal Question in Personal Injury in Wisconsin

I have a chile that was injured at a school sports event. His coaches told the kids to warm up for a wrestling tournament and then left the gym to ALL go into a coaches meeting leaving the kids unsupervised. One of the larger kids picked up my child as high as he could and then dropped him. Understand he has about 35 lbs and a foot of height on my child. My kid laid on the mat for several minutes before he was helped up. His coaches had no idea any of this had happened. They sent him out to wrestle and he came off of the mat with a severe headache, nausea, dizzyness, etc. I was there by this time and took him to see the trainer - who determined he had a concussion from the drop to his head. He had to leave immediately, be out of school for awhile and will not be able to wrestle for quite some time. The coaches were unhappy, but did not seem surprised. In fact they said they had to talk to the other kid already a few times regardging this type of behavior. All they did was "talk to him" again. He was allowed to continue to wrestle that day, remain on the team and has had no repercussions from the school. What course of action can I take? Should I file charges against the kid? The school? The coaches? What about medical bills? Please let me know.


Asked on 1/15/13, 8:39 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas Schober Schober Schober & Mitchell, S.C.

Your child, and you as a parent of a minor child, appear to have a very good case with respect to damages incurred as a result of the willful conduct of the "bullying" student. There were plenty of witnesses. The real issue will be the party who should be responsible. The bully probably doesn't have much to go after. There are limits as to how much you may seek from the bully's parents. The school district appears to be the deep pocket, and a history of misbehavior that went unaltered by staff may be just the route to seek recovery.

I am not saying this is an uncomplicated case. There would have to be extensive analysis of your child's injury and a determination as to what temporary or permanent problems may exist and to what extent they will affect his life and therefore permit damages. You need to see an expert in this type of personal injury. We have some in our office and if you are anywhere near New Berlin or Oconomowoc, that may be a good route to consider. Best luck with your situation and I hope your son makes a full recovery.

Read more
Answered on 1/18/13, 10:39 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Personal Injury Law and Tort Law questions and answers in Wisconsin