What to do if my child was injured in school when another child grabbed her and threw her in the ground fracturing her right hand?
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What to do if my child was injured in school when another child grabbed her and threw her in the ground fracturing her right hand?
A cast was put on; she will have to have it on for about 2 months. I need to know the steps to take to have someone be responsible for her injuries?
Asked on December 18, 2015 under Personal Injury, Florida
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
It would be advisable to obtain the name, address, and telephone number of the school district's insurance carrier. Notify that insurance carrier in writing that you will be filing a personal injury claim on behalf of your daughter.
When your daughter completes her medical treatment and is released by the doctor, obtain her medical bills and medical reports. Your daughter's personal injury claim filed with the school district's insurance carrier should include those items.
Compensation for the medical bills is straight reimbursement. The medical reports will document the nature and extent of your daughter's injury and will be used to determine compensation for pain and suffering which is an amount in addition to the medical bills.
If the case is settled with the school district's insurance carrier, NO lawsuit is filed.
If you are dissatisfied with settlement offers from the school district's insurance carrier, reject the settlement offers and file a lawsuit for negligence against the school district. Negligence is the failure to exercise due care (that degree of care that a reasonable school district would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm). The negligence claim would be based on the failure to supervise the children and prevent this injury from occuring.
You will need to be appointed guardian ad litem to file a lawsuit on behalf of your daughter because she is a minor.
In addition to naming the school district as a defendant in the lawsuit, you should also name the child's parents in the lawsuit as defendants. The school district is primarily liable, but it is advisable to include all potential defendants.
If the case is NOT settled, the lawsuit on behalf of your daughter must be filed prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or your daughter will lose her rights forever in the matter.
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