Injured child - Making a claim

Snugglebunnies

If a child was injured (broken bone) due to the carelessness of the adult who was meant to be supervising him/ her during a court ordered access visit, could the child's parent make a claim against the person who was negligent on behalf of the child?

whippet

if the parent's solicitor felt there was a case I am sure a claim could be made .. however, as we know nothing of the case and we are only hearing one very vague side of the story and the accused party hasn't the option of making a defence here no one could answer your question.

In short . .speak to a solicitor

Wesser

Children break bones, it's s fact of life, due to the rough and tumble of life, means they are active and not stuck in using computers all day, no long term consequences, could happen in the care of even the most cautious and strict carer. If every parent who was supervising a kid and the kid broke s bone was to be sued then a lawyer could just sit in temple street AE and see the money roll in. Best to let it go.

seamus

If the incident happened in the child's home and/or the person is not a paid professional child carer, and the child is not permanently disabled or seriously disfigured, then suing for damages is unlikely to yield anything except pain and tension between all parties.

The answer to "can I sue" is always "yes". You can sue for anything at any time.

The question you need to ask is "should I sue". And the answer there is only "yes" if you have suffered a significant loss, there is a third party answerable who can afford to pay compensation, and you can win.

Only a solicitor can properly advise on the latter.

DublinWriter

Snugglebunnies wrote: »

the adult who was meant to be supervising him/ her

Child's Father? If so, it could appear like a fairly vexatious action on your part.

Kristopherus

Snugglebunnies wrote: »

If a child was injured (broken bone) due to the carelessness of the adult who was meant to be supervising him/ her during a court ordered access visit, could the child's parent make a claim against the person who was negligent on behalf of the child?

Are'nt you being a bit vindictive with the "carelessness" jibe?

Snugglebunnies

Not the child's father. It was careless since they let the child with a stranger( to them and me) and that's when the injury happened. Not vindictive at all, especially since they didn't seek medical attention for the child untill i picked the her up, and by stage she was hysterical with pain. Not all mothers are vindictive you know!

Snugglebunnies

I'm just curious about this by the way, I most likely will let it go and follow the incident up in the family law court at the review date.

uck51js9zml2yt

Snugglebunnies wrote: »

I'm just curious about this by the way, I most likely will let it go and follow the incident up in the family law court at the review date.

Or you could just ask him why he let someone else mind his child.

Manach

Even if there is a clear case against the other party, their resources might not make it worth the time to press a claim due to lack of funds to pay.

Snugglebunnies

It's not the father,it's access with a third party family member. I can't talk to these people at all because they just scream abuse at me. It's simple I'm afraid.

Sala

If there is no access order with this party they have no right to mind the child. I would clear this up in court (sounds like there are already proceedings in being) and ask the judge. I have seen this made although the judge was a bit grumpy that he had to clarify because by its very nature an access arrangement is specific to the person named therein.

If a person was a genuine threat to a child or children a call to social services may be in order. Although you should take a step back and say objectively was there negligence, and is the child at risk around this person, or was it simply a child falling over, as they do.

cruizer101

Snugglebunnies wrote: »

they didn't seek medical attention for the child untill i picked the her up, and by stage she was hysterical with pain. Not all mothers are vindictive you know!

To me this is the important bit, at the end of the day children break bones but neglecting to take appropriate action is not on. Whether or not you have a case, need to talk to solicitor, but to me this is the point I would be emphasising, be it if you sue or in proceeding regarding access.

Wesser

"It was careless since they let a child with a stranger......"

So isit the father who is careless, as indicated in this post......or the carer who was careless, as indicated in your first post? Some contradiction here...

Snugglebunnies

Wesser wrote: »

"It was careless since they let a child with a stranger......"

So isit the father who is careless, as indicated in this post......or the carer who was careless, as indicated in your first post? Some contradiction here...

It's nothing to do with the father at all. It's another family member who has access. They left my little girl with a stranger, someone they didn't know, in a public place and wandered off and she got hurt. I don't want to give too much detail on a public forum.

volchitsa

Snugglebunnies wrote: »

It's nothing to do with the father at all. It's another family member who has access. They left my little girl with a stranger, someone they didn't know, in a public place and wandered off and she got hurt. I don't want to give too much detail on a public forum.

If that happened the way it sounds (not disbelieving you, just acknowledging that we only have a third-hand version here) then I would find that absolutely unacceptable. I'm just not sure why the question asked was about suing the person, something that could drag on and on, rather than focussing on getting the court access order struck down immediately?

gouche

Don't know why everyone is going on about the father when the OP didn't mention him in first post and has since said it's not the father.

OP, don't sue, you'll only be bringing more hardship on what sounds like an already difficult relationship.
Bring it up in court next time though, especially the part about not seeking medical attention. How long between the incident and when you collected her? My daughter broke her leg before and I know how they react! To ignore that for any length of time is not on.

Snugglebunnies

volchitsa wrote: »

If that happened the way it sounds (not disbelieving you, just acknowledging that we only have a third-hand version here) then I would find that absolutely unacceptable. I'm just not sure why the question asked was about suing the person, something that could drag on and on, rather than focussing on getting the court access order struck down immediately?

I was just curious about it is all. Would I have a chance of getting the order stopped over that incident? My daughter hates these visits, she's afraidof them. There's only so much we can tolerate.

volchitsa

Snugglebunnies wrote: »

I was just curious about it is all. Would I have a chance of getting the order stopped over that incident? My daughter hates these visits, she's afraidof them. There's only so much we can tolerate.

I don't have any legal knowledge, so I wouldn't rely on me, if I were you! But for sure that'd be my first reaction, to get those visits stopped, especially if you say she didn't enjoy them even before this incident.

Even if she hadn't been injured, it's just not on to leave a child with someone else again, without very good reason, and even then she should not have been left with someone who wasn't well known to her and who was known to be reliable. If the other adult didn't know the person well, then there's a problem.

At most I'd consider that the injury might (might, because kids do get hurt) be evidence that the person wasn't reliable, but I'd possibly not make too much of that in case it turns out it could have happened anyway - but I'd want the judge to look very carefully at a court order that might be responsible for potentially putting a child in danger.

Sala

Snugglebunnies wrote: »

I was just curious about it is all. Would I have a chance of getting the order stopped over that incident? My daughter hates these visits, she's afraidof them. There's only so much we can tolerate.

Yes make an application to the court that granted the order to discharge it. The chances of the judge varying/discharging it will depending all the relevant facts.

jimmycrackcorm

Snugglebunnies wrote:

I was just curious about it is all. Would I have a chance of getting the order stopped over that incident? My daughter hates these visits, she's afraidof them. There's only so much we can tolerate.

A judge might most likely view your point as simply a vindictive attempt to stop access. In regard to the child's injury you would have to demonstrate direct negligence whereas you are suggesting that any child must be monitored every minute by an adult. There's a significant difference between leaving a one years old to his own devices compared to a ten year old.

seamus

So reading the whole story, the child was left briefly with a non-professional 3rd party while the supervising "guardian" was elsewhere.

In short, the 3rd party is not liable unless they actively acted to injure the child. They owe no duty of care to the child, as a verbal agreement to "look after my child" does not constitute any acceptance of liability. If it happened in someone's home, their home insurance may cover it (as it typically includes 3rd party liability), but unless the amount is exceptional, I wouldn't waste your time.

It is not uncommon for a child to sue one parent through the other (this is typically what happens in car crashes, for example), but again unless the costs are exceptional, it's a waste of time. The person who was supervising should pay all medical costs associated with the injury.

As for have the access restricted, the law requires the court to take the opinion of the child into account, with due regard given to the age and maturity of the child. If the child is afraid of the visits, then depending on her age it may be possible to get them further restricted.

Your solicitor should be advising you of all of this.

Sala

I think you need a solicitor. If the child genuinely hates the visits the court should know. Depending on the age of the child the judge may speak to him/her or the judge can order a report (although legal aid isn't covering these much now). The best interests of the child are paramount. If you can put aside your personal feelings about these people and honestly say it's not in the best interests of the child to have this access you need to go to court

Pat Mustard

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