is daycare liable?

abpdjs · June 2013

My 5 year old fell on the schools playground yesterday running and broke his elbow. He is in prek 2
Not a public school but a preschool that is licensed etc....does anyone have experience with this type of situation? Would his school be liable for the medical expenses? I don't want this to get weird or sticky because he has 3 more months there before K and my other little boy goes there too. Is it worth inquiring about?

mben1119 · June 2013

Only if you can prove negligence. Sounds like an accident that happened while playing, based on your OP, in which case, no, they're not financially liable.

GreenMonkey1 · June 2013

I am not a lawyer, but based on the few practioner-based law classes I have completed, I would guess unless you could show negligence, the daycare is not liable. From personal experience, I chopped off a finger in a folding chair in school (accidentally, I was young, finger is now reattached) and the school was not liable.

You can call the county Bar Association to get names for lawyers, many will give a free consult to determine whether you have a case.

ccm1203 · June 2013

Not a lawyer either but I would say no, not liable...

sdtchica13 · June 2013

It depends on a lot of things. Did he randomly fall, or trip over a crack, hole etc. in the ground (improper maintenance)? Also, did he fall due to a lack of playground supervision?

You may want to simply ask the school for their insurance information and see if you can put a claim through their insurance for medical bills...if it happened at someone's home, there would be a chance that their homeowner's would cover it, so the school may be in a similar situation. However, there is a difference between asking for medical bills to be covered and suing for a million dollars, so keep that in mind.

(FTR, I am not an attorney, but am a paralegal that has handled personal injury claims on both sides of the spectrum)

mandy522 · June 2013

If you are covered by health insurance, their subrogation department will pursue this for you with the school's property insurance if there's a case. In many states the property owner is liable for injuries that occur on their property even if they are not negligent, which is why property insurance (such as your homeowner's insurance) generally carries a minimum amount of personal liability coverage and often some no-fault medical coverage. You shouldn't have to get involved.

RachieTK · June 2013

I wouldn't mess with it unless you're really in a financial bind over it.

abpdjs · June 2013

Thanks everyone! I'm not going to mess with it.

olga1311 · June 2013

you can put in a claim to their liability insurance. Almost every policy has $5K limit for medical payments that are paid with no regard to negligence by the insured (i.e. daycare). You could probably collect under that provision.

azuremama · June 2013

I would also ask about submitting a claim to their insurance. DS fell at daycare a year or so ago and ended up having to get a tooth pulled. I didn't even ask about it, but daycare said that we could submit any claim to their insurance. I don't think we ended up paying anything out of pocket. I don't think you have to show negligence or anything. Worth asking about, in my book.

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