child injured due to the inattention of a caregiver - what would you do?

[Anonymous]

My son broke his leg at a playground.

He was under nanny supervision.

He is only 4 and he won't be able to walk for the next 6-8 weeks.

What would you do if you were me?

[Anonymous]

How did he break his leg? Accidents happen, and unless you believe your child will never him injure himself while under your care, I don't think you can hold the nanny to those same impossible standards.

[Anonymous]

How was it broken ? Children go to playgrounds daily . Would you rather the nanny not let your child outside ?

[Anonymous]

I would sue her for medical bills and whatever else you can. Ask a lawyer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would sue her for medical bills and whatever else you can. Ask a lawyer.

You would suggest sueing before knowing what happened ? At this point we don't know how the leg was broken. What if the child fell from a play structure or jumped off a swing ? How is that the nannies fault ? The child is 4 not 1 so that means he can play on everything the park has to offer. If it was true negligence I can see some families sueing for medical bills but to say that they should sue for anything else you can ? You would like this woman to loose her home? All her savings? What if she has a large inheritance , is this family entitled to 250,000 plus just because the child broke a leg while the nanny was watching him ? Should this nanny be left destitute over a broken leg?

[Anonymous]

Really depends on how it happened. I've seen kids get injured when their caregiver was an inch away from them, I've seen kids get injured because the caregiver turned their back for a second (still hardly negligent), and I've Seen kids injured because their caregiver was not supervising properly. Advice for you is completely dependent on how this accident happened.

[Anonymous]

That is tricky. What happened? How was she inattentive?

When I was an Au Pair, one of my Au Pair kids broke his leg when he was 18 month old. We were going down the slide together since he loved doing that and his leg got stuck on the plastic slide and broke.
His parents weren't upset with me and said it should have happened in their care just as easily and told me not to worry or feel bad. It really depends what happened and if it could have been avoided if she had taken better care.
If it was a playground accident that just sometimes happen, I don't think I would sue.

[Anonymous]

Why do you think it is the nanny's fault? Accidents happen.

FWIW, my dd broke her arm while under our nanny's care. Strangely enough, the fact that she fell was the cause, and the nanny had nothing to do with it.

[Anonymous]

OP here.

She allowed him to swing too high. And he fell off the swing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

She allowed him to swing too high. And he fell off the swing.

How high is too high? I mean, a four year old can swing as high as they can pump. Hell I used to play on the swing-set in my backyard and was allowed to do anything I wanted on it. If I fell, I fell. Shit happens.

[Anonymous]

Accidents happen op. Kids ask to be pushed higher, higher... Or they learn to pump and go high. Accidents happen I wouldn't be mad at the nanny. Definitely don't sue her.

[Anonymous]

I don't want to to sue her. I am just mad.

And I am surprised she didn't offer any help - like coming on weekend and taking care of DS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

She allowed him to swing too high. And he fell off the swing.

Accidents happen, OP. She could've been standing right there when it happened. Further more, she could've told little Johnny to be careful/not swing so high and little Johnny could have *gasp* ignored what his caregiver was saying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't want to to sue her. I am just mad.

And I am surprised she didn't offer any help - like coming on weekend and taking care of DS.

100% not her responsibility. That would be like expecting a preschool teacher to come to your house over the weekend and care for your kid if he was stick with a stomach bug he caught while at school.

You sound like a pretty difficult MB. Maybe you should quit work and stay home and care for your child yourself. And I'm not saying that to be mean, I'm saying it honestly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't want to to sue her. I am just mad.

And I am surprised she didn't offer any help - like coming on weekend and taking care of DS.

100% not her responsibility. That would be like expecting a preschool teacher to come to your house over the weekend and care for your kid if he was stick with a stomach bug he caught while at school.

You sound like a pretty difficult MB. Maybe you should quit work and stay home and care for your child yourself. And I'm not saying that to be mean, I'm saying it honestly.

Difficult because I am mad she allowed DS to break his leg...??

You cannot compare PK teacher and stomach bug with nanny and injury than happened under her supervision. She allowed him to swing WAY TOO HIGH.

Nanny is responsible for kids safety. It's part of her job.