Accident That Required Stitches

[Tdhmom]

So Dcb was going down the slide head first and had put a plastic play school chair in front of the slide (something I ask him not to do daily) and kablamo he sliced his chin clean open! I called dcm and explained he fell into a chair coming down the slide and needs to be seen for stitches. She comes to get him and as I'm putting dcb in the car and buckling him in, she finally gets off her phone and before she shuts her door says "so did he fall on the sidewalk?!" I said "no, he went down the slide head first and into a chair he had put at the bottem".
Am I going to get a huge bill for this? Since it happened on my watch, at my home, am I responsible for the bill?

[KidGrind]

Yes, you are responsible.

Whether you owe for the bill or not it depends on your contract. I’ve seen contracts where it states, “Provider is not financially responsible for medical bills resulting from accidents during care, not due to negligence.”

I am not faulting you or judging you.

An individual could view your not noticing his placing the chair in front of the slide and going down head first as negligence.

I hope he heals up just fine. I am wishing you luck.

I have in my contract that if a child is injured the parents are responsible for medical bills. Do you have anything in your contract?

[daycarediva]

Originally Posted by KidGrind

Yes, you are responsible.

Whether you owe for the bill or not it depends on your contract. I’ve seen contracts where it states, “Provider is not financially responsible for medical bills resulting from accidents during care, not due to negligence.”

I am not faulting you or judging you.

An individual could view your not noticing his placing the chair in front of the slide and going down head first as negligence.

I hope he heals up just fine. I am wishing you luck.

I'm not sure if this will hold up in court, no matter what your contract states, you ARE responsible.

Do you have insurance?

I wouldn't offer to pay for anything and see where the chips fall, so to speak. They probably have insurance, and IF dcm wanted me to pay for anything, I would pay the copay.

Also, if you haven't already, make a report, call licensing, and get those chairs out of there. I have a rule about only butts going on the slide, too.

[melilley]

One of my dcb's fell and split his forehead open here and the wound required stitches. Thankfully his parents didn't come back at me for it. I think that's why we have business liability, for things that come up, like this if the parent's decide to sue for the cost of the medical bills or whatever.

Also, I think that I have read on here (from Tom maybe?) that even though (if) your contract states that you aren't liable for injuries and/or medical bills, that they could still hold you liable, but I may be wrong.

[Tdhmom]

I don't even have a contract to be honest. I never thought I needed one until today. He usually puts the chair in front of the slide and then rolls a ball down it or a monster truck. Well I had my back turned talking with another child and he went down head first. I feel awful!

[melilley]

Originally Posted by daycarediva

I'm not sure if this will hold up in court, no matter what your contract states, you ARE responsible.

Do you have insurance?

I wouldn't offer to pay for anything and see where the chips fall, so to speak. They probably have insurance, and IF dcm wanted me to pay for anything, I would pay the copay.

Also, if you haven't already, make a report, call licensing, and get those chairs out of there. I have a rule about only butts going on the slide, too.

I would not offer to pay anything either. It sounds mean, but a trip to the hospital could costs thousands!

[melilley]

Originally Posted by Tdhmom

I don't even have a contract to be honest. I never thought I needed one until today. He usually puts the chair in front of the slide and then rolls a ball down it or a monster truck. Well I had my back turned talking with another child and he went down head first. I feel awful!

I felt awful when my dcb was injured here too. I even cried when mom picked up. I held it together until she took him, bleeding from me. Accidents happen, we are all human....that's what my dcp said to me.

[daycare]

it does not matter what you have in your contract about that. YOU are 100% responsible for the children while in your care. Even if you took them to bounce jump city and they fell in the bounce house and did it, it's still your responsibility. This is why I have huge DC liability insurance policy.

If you want to the information to where I purchase my insurance, I'll be more than happy to pass it on.

YOu may get lucky and the parents have great coverage and not end up with anything. Or a family that sees it as kids play and don't try to hold you accountable. BUT be prepared for a LIC visit if you are licensed and for the parents to not only ask that you pay for their medical bills but also for their time missed from work due to the incident.

[Cradle2crayons]

Originally Posted by KidGrind

Yes, you are responsible.

Whether you owe for the bill or not it depends on your contract. I’ve seen contracts where it states, “Provider is not financially responsible for medical bills resulting from accidents during care, not due to negligence.”

I am not faulting you or judging you.

An individual could view your not noticing his placing the chair in front of the slide and going down head first as negligence.

I hope he heals up just fine. I am wishing you luck.

It actually depends more on the state than your contract. I also have in my contract hat I'm not responsible if I'm providing appropriate supervision etc etc blah blah. But it's my understanding hat in some states.... It may not be enough.

In this case, op, I hate to say it. But this could be proven as due to negligence possibly. I'm so sorry his happened to you though. Dck will be fine though.

[sharlan]

Originally Posted by Cradle2crayons

It actually depends more on the state than your contract. I also have in my contract hat I'm not responsible if I'm providing appropriate supervision etc etc blah blah. But it's my understanding hat in some states.... It may not be enough.

In this case, op, I hate to say it. But this could be proven as due to negligence possibly. I'm so sorry his happened to you though. Dck will be fine though.

That's the problem. Appropriate supervision is open to interpretation, yours or mine.

[daycare]

Originally Posted by sharlan

That's the problem. Appropriate supervision is open to interpretation, yours or mine.

yes that is what LIC will say. They will come out to investigate to see if you were being negligent in any way.

Hopefully this was just a little incident and won't be a huge deal. I hope that it all works out in your favor and that the DCP are not too upset about it. Kids will get hurt, there really is no 100% way from it happening.....

[Cat Herder]

Originally Posted by Tdhmom

So Dcb was going down the slide head first and had put a plastic play school chair in front of the slide (something I ask him not to do daily) and kablamo he sliced his chin clean open! Am I going to get a huge bill for this? Since it happened on my watch, at my home, am I responsible for the bill?

I am going to have to say yes.

If it happened here, because of your statement in the bolded section, I would be forced to close during the investigation, cited, possibly fined, published online and ordered to take more classes before re-opening.

The reasoning for my State: It was a "safety issue" that you "were aware of" and "failed to address within a reasonable time frame". Possibly even a "lack of physical supervision, playground equipment" which is a big, big hit here. (those would be the most likely citations I'd recieve for this incident, not my personal opinion)

Are you required to formally report (state forms) any injury requiring treatment? I am within 24 hours.

[sharlan]

Originally Posted by Cat Herder

I am going to have to say yes.

If it happened here, because of your statement in the bolded section, I would be forced to close during the investigation, cited, possibly fined, published online and ordered to take more classes before re-opening.

The reasoning for my State: It was a "safety issue" that you "were aware of" and "failed to address within a reasonable time frame". Possibly even a "lack of physical supervision, playground equipment" which is a big, big hit here. (those would be the most likely citations I'd recieve for this incident, not my personal opinion)

Are you required to formally report (state forms) any injury requiring treatment? I am within 24 hours.

I was told this years (30) ago by my atty. I was watching a neighbor's boys when the one hit his brother. I told him not to hit and headed back to the kitchen to finish cooking breakfast. The elder boy hit again and knocked his brother's tooth out. My atty, who my neighbors were in a meeting with, told me that I was responsible because I knew the boy could hit his brother again and I didn't prevent it. I was also told that the injured boy could sue me when he hit 18 for any dental issues he had as a result of the accident. I paid the dental bill for the dentist to put the tooth back in and the boy never sued me. (I was surprised because the parents sued everybody.)

[Tdhmom]

Originally Posted by Cat Herder

I am going to have to say yes.

If it happened here, because of your statement in the bolded section, I would be forced to close during the investigation, cited, possibly fined, published online and ordered to take more classes before re-opening.

The reasoning for my State: It was a "safety issue" that you "were aware of" and "failed to address within a reasonable time frame". Possibly even a "lack of physical supervision, playground equipment" which is a big, big hit here. (those would be the most likely citations I'd recieve for this incident, not my personal opinion)

Are you required to formally report (state forms) any injury requiring treatment? I am within 24 hours.

I'm not licensed. I can have 4 children not related in my care, so not real sure what I'm supposed to be doing.

[Cat Herder]

Originally Posted by Tdhmom

I'm not licensed. I can have 4 children not related in my care, so not real sure what I'm supposed to be doing.

OK, so the ball will be with either the Mother or the ER doctor/Charge Nurse (some will deem this reportable, others won't depending on age).

If the ER reports, you may have a visit from Child Services. Don't be scared, they are much more realistic and understanding than childcare licensing. They see REAL crimes, they may lecture some, give a bit of stink eye and leave you with a number to call if you ever need them.

It could simply end with Mom asking what you plan to do to prevent it in the future, have a workable plan and be humble. Most people feed off a defensive stance, especially someone who just held down their kid while they were getting stitches.. Warning: Don't blame the kid. That ship has sailed and will go badly.

In the end everyone knows it was not purposeful. The rest is simply about who is out some $$$ Lesson learned.

[Tdhmom]

Originally Posted by Cat Herder

OK, so the ball will be with either the Mother or the ER doctor/Charge Nurse (some will deem this reportable, others won't depending on age).

If the ER reports, you may have a visit from Child Services. Don't be scared, they are much more realistic and understanding than childcare licensing. They see REAL crimes, they may lecture some, give a bit of sink eye and leave you with a number to call if you ever need them.

It could simply end with Mom asking what you plan to do to prevent it in the future, have a workable plan and be humble. Most people feed off a defensive stance, especially someone who just held down their kid while they were getting stitches.. Warning: Don't blame the kid. That ship has sailed and will go badly.

In the end everyone knows it was not purposeful. The rest is simply about who is out some $$$ Lesson learned.

Thank you! All those darn plastic chairs are put away in the garage! And I was always worried about the swings :-/

[TwinKristi]

It also depends on their insurance company. They may ask if this happened at someone else's house and then they will come after you or your insurance for it. Do you have renter's/homeowner's ins? Depending on the bill and your deductible it may be worth it to pay out of pocket.

Eta- my old insurance company used to send us letters asking if anyone else could be held liable and who/where, etc.

[nannyde]

Yes you are responsible. It may nit be up to the parents on whether or not you pay. Whoever pays the bill may sue you for it.

There's nothing the parents can sign that will absolve you of responsibility.

[Tdhmom]

Originally Posted by TwinKristi

It also depends on their insurance company. They may ask if this happened at someone else's house and then they will come after you or your insurance for it. Do you have renter's/homeowner's ins? Depending on the bill and your deductible it may be worth it to pay out of pocket.

Eta- my old insurance company used to send us letters asking if anyone else could be held liable and who/where, etc.

Yea we have home owners insurance. I've been speaking with dcm and I think it's going to be ok. My mind was racing after it happened and didn't really have a chance to talk to her so, of course, I think the absolute worse scenarios. I hope nothing like this ever happens again!!! I feel horrible it happened on my watch

[crazydaycarelady]

I had this happen before and the parents insurance covered it. If they have insurance you could offer to pay for what it does not cover (co-pays.)

If they don't have insurance they may want you to pay.

[Annalee]

Originally Posted by crazydaycarelady

I had this happen before and the parents insurance covered it. If they have insurance you could offer to pay for what it does not cover (co-pays.)

If they don't have insurance they may want you to pay.

Same here.....had a parent come and get the child needing stitches, carried to dr and it was over. When I first started fcc years ago, an attorney at a workshop warned providers to never "offer" to pay....see how the issue plays out.

I do have insurance in the amount state licensing requires, however I do not broadcast because we live in a sue happy society.