Reply to Child broke leg on sidewalk—should I talk to the neighbor or teach my 12-year-old to pay more attention?

Forum Index » Elementary School-Aged Kids

Reply to "Child broke leg on sidewalk—should I talk to the neighbor or teach my 12-year-old to pay more attention?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’d love your thoughts on something that happened recently. My 12-year-old son was riding his bike on the sidewalk because the road was too busy. He struck our neighbor’s trash can, which was left blocking the path, and fell, breaking his leg.

This has been a real wake-up call: I need to pay closer attention to where he’s riding and remind him to scan ahead, even on the “safe” sidewalk. At the same time, it feels unfair that a can left in the middle of a public walkway caused this accident.

Under Virginia law, bicycles are explicitly allowed on sidewalks. Still, riders must follow pedestrian rules (Va. Code §§ 46.2-903 & 46.2-904): they have the same rights and duties as walkers—yield to pedestrians, signal before passing, and obey any “no bikes” signs. Property owners must clear obstacles from the public sidewalk, even if the trash company places the can there. In Fairfax County, carts must be pulled in by the end of trash day (Friday or Saturday), but the neighbor left their trash can out for over three days.

Insurance covered almost all of our medical bills; I only paid a few small copays. We have timestamped photos showing the trash can blocking the sidewalk.

So now I’m torn: Do I focus on teaching my son to be extra vigilant, or should I have a calm conversation with the neighbor (or their insurer) about their responsibility and ask them to cover those small copays—and maybe some extra for his pain? Or does that feel like overkill since insurance already handled most of it?

Thanks for any advice or similar experiences![/quote]

I am constantly worried about neighbors like you. I rush to put my cans away right when I get home!  The can is clearly visible.  Your kid should have been paying attention.  If you are concerned get their eyes checked.   
Were you there or is this what your son said happened?  How do you know this is what actually happened?

A friend of mine told me her son (13 ) gave a similar story (but broke their arm).  She looked at the phone bill and the kid had been doing something on his tech watch and lied about it.  People also have cameras.

When you have wheels you must follow wheels of the road which means stop at stop signs, etc.  I see so many bikers who do not abide by the rules of the road or sidewalks.  In my town you must walk your wheels if you're within the town vicinity.  There are signs but people still bike or scooter.  Then you get a ticket.

This is a lesson you must teach your kid.  They need to be aware. You're lucky it wasn't a small child, or animal.  If you blame it on others your kid will not get the lesson.  This is so important especially before kids learn to drive.  They must pay attention and be aware of other drivers.

FWIW, once your kid can drive, I would make them pay for their own car and put them on their own insurance.  My mom, a lawyer, did this when I got my license.  I had to pay the highest for insurance but there was no way she was getting sued if we got in any accident (I have never been in any accident*knocks on wood*).

My elderly neighbors can't always get their cans up on time.  When I get home I will sometimes bring up their cans.

Do these neighbors usually leave the can out for 3 days?  If it was a one time thing I would leave it as they might be away, might be sick, or have a family emergency.  If they constantly leave it out for days, maybe just tell them that your kid hit the can and got hurt and that they should put it back the day the trash is picked up.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics