broken arm from trampoline update

[clori]

I posted awhile back on a trampoline thread about dd breaking her arm on a trampoline. She was using it the recommended way. She was alone on it and was walking to get off. She separated the safety enclosure netting and somehow got her arm stuck. She broke both the radius and ulna bones in her left arm. The bones were set under sedative in the er but they weren't sure how stable they were. At the 1 week follow up the bones weren't perfect but acceptible. At the second week follow up they had shifted.

DD had surgery to had metal rods inserted into both bones to stabilize them to heal correctly. I think it was called open reduction surgery due to the number of incisions. Due to needing iv antibiotics and excessive swelling dd was in the hospital overnight. Three weeks later dd needed a second surgery because one of the rods was coming out (the bone was now stable). DD has had 5 casts from August 30th until October 29th when it came off. Now she has to wear a brace for 6 weeks and has one last follow up xray hopefully.

Today I got a letter from the insurance company to call them (Blue Cross). They have the info we gave from the er saying it was a trampoline accident. Now they want the name, address, phone number, and if possible the home owner's insurance company info because they say a trampoline injury is covered by homeowner's insurance. The accident was at dh's coworkers house at a get together. I do not blame them at all but can't afford to pay all the bills out of pocket. I honestly thought that my insurance company was paying until today.

I did read here before about this happening but never heard about it in real life. So why do we pay such high insurance premiums if they just want to sue a home owner's insurance company? Since when are trampoline accidents automatically covered by homeowners insurance rather than health insurance?

 

[scrapindis]

It is my understanding that you can choose one or the other. If you choose homeowners, you will not have to pay your deductibles, etc. but the people that own the trampoline may have their insurance go up if they have some claims.

 

[dizneechic]

Ouch and so sorry about your dd's arm.

Here in MA we have to tell our homeowners insurance if we have a trampoline, just like we do a pool (if it stays up year round), and certain breeds of dogs. These are all potential hazards in the home (for us and visitors, wanted or not!) and we have to pay a premium on our insurance to cover these things. If we are found in non compliance we could become uninsurable. I'm not sure if it's like that everywhere, but I would have your dh give the coworker a heads up just in case that is the situation where you live, they may not want it reported to homeowners and may want to work something out off the books so they don't face the potential of being uninsured or have really high rates for years because of the incident. It's a really uncomfortable situation to be in from all angles, I wish you the best of luck with it all!

 

[bumbershoot]

The trampoline makes things a bit less clear, but I've gotten more general letters like that from my insurance company, the two times DS has had an ER claim.

one time he was burned while "helping" make dinner, and the next time he fell at Target.

Got those letters, and both times I stated that it was an accident pure and simple, no one else's fault, end of story.

Insurance paid.

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

most likely the insurance company will see if that co-worker WAS covered for the trampoline. If not, they will sue to recover the cost paid out by your insurance.

Another bad thing is that some homowners insurance specifically state that trampolines and other high risk (to them) items will result in the insurance being cancelled. If your co-worker has a mortgage that requires homeowners insurance, he may need to get new insurance at, you guessed it, higher rates.

my guess would be that somewhere in your policy, it states that your insurance company will seek to get re-embursed from the insurance company where an accident occurred, and you must cooperate with those efforts, or pay the whole amount yourself.

I would be reading the policy most carefully.

good luck.

 

[Tam1067]

I believe you're required to give the information and let the insurance companies deal with it. If someone else is liable, then that person (or his insurance company) is supposed to pay.

We've received letters like these when DS broke his arm at wrestling practice and then when he was in physical therapy due to a gymnastics injury. Both times, my insurance paid the claims, but they were investigating if someone else was responsible.

In your case, the homeowners are probably "responsible" in a technical sense since they own the trampoline. But their insurance should pay.

Don't worry about it. It's how insurance works.

 

[Leajess99]

I have gotten those type letters before with all 3 of my kids when they broke their hand/wrist. One happened at school, one happened at the city owned soccer park, and the third child's happened at soccer practice. I have also gotten them when one child was hurt at a friend's house while riding the scooter. The paper I filled out asked for the other person's insurance and how it happened and I put no insurance and it was an ACCIDENT. It is just their way of trying to get out of paying. My insurance company paid for all of the accidents and there was never a problem.
Personally, I think it is wrong to go after the other person's homeowner's insurance as it was a freak accident. I would contact the manufacturer of the trampoline though and make them aware of what happened.

 

[JennsBabySky]

I also received a letter like that when my son got a dog bite at a neighbor's house. Long story, but I do not feel that it was my neighbor's fault at all and I absolutely did not want to submit a claim against them. When I recieved the letter, I called my health insurance company and told them firmly that it was an accident and I felt that our neighbor's were not to blame. They never contacted me again (and I never gave them my neighbor's information). They paid and I hope that is the end of it (it has been over 2 years now).

Good Luck!

 

[thebeesknees]

My DS fell at school and wound up with a concussion. The insurance sent me a letter asking about the specifics of the incident so they could possibly go after the school or the child that pushed him. I did not feel that the child who pushed him did it on purpose to injure him (they were running around and being silly), so I just said that he fell on the playground, it was an accident, and left it at that. They paid just fine and never went after anyone else.

Since you already told them at the ER that it was a trampoline injury, you may end up having to go ahead and give the insurance company the information they have requested. Sounds like an awkward situation - I hope you can get it all straghtened out with no hard feelings from the homeowner.

 

[wmharley]

Ouch and so sorry about your dd's arm.

Here in MA we have to tell our homeowners insurance if we have a trampoline, just like we do a pool (if it stays up year round), and certain breeds of dogs. These are all potential hazards in the home (for us and visitors, wanted or not!) and we have to pay a premium on our insurance to cover these things. If we are found in non compliance we could become uninsurable. I'm not sure if it's like that everywhere, but I would have your dh give the coworker a heads up just in case that is the situation where you live, they may not want it reported to homeowners and may want to work something out off the books so they don't face the potential of being uninsured or have really high rates for years because of the incident. It's a really uncomfortable situation to be in from all angles, I wish you the best of luck with it all!

its like that in FL.. you don't report it, you can get cancelled.. DW worked for INSCO..

The trampoline makes things a bit less clear, but I've gotten more general letters like that from my insurance company, the two times DS has had an ER claim.

one time he was burned while "helping" make dinner, and the next time he fell at Target.

Got those letters, and both times I stated that it was an accident pure and simple, no one else's fault, end of story.

Insurance paid.

I got a call instead.. our DS fell off an inflatable bed a visitor was using and busted open above his eyebrow. they called to verify what the accident was from, if it was from a car or something (even though at the PedAfterHours we specifically said what it was from).

 

[chabs]

My dd fell off a trampoline at one of her friends house and I had to take her to get staples in the back of her head (I did not know the family had a trampoline until I got the phone call to come and pick her up!). I told them what happened at the ER and got the same letter from my insurance company. I just gave them the name of the person who was responsible and told them if they wanted to pursue it, they would have to get the rest of the information from them and left it at that. I figured if they were responsible enough to let my daughter play on their trampoline (unsupervised and without my permission) that they should take responsibility for the accident. I never heard another word about it from them or the insurance company after that.

 

[CLR4321]

Leave it to the insurance companies to jerk you around about a claim, after all it is their job. I hope that your DD heals up as soon as possible and that your friend's home owners insurance does not go up.

 

[seashoreCM]

Most insurance companies go after somebody else if they feel the somebody else is responsible.

You pay the high premiums so the insurance company will do the legwork going after that somebody else.

>>> the paper asked for the other person's insurance ...

You can answer "I don't know."

But it is the insurance company's job to find out about the somebody else after you gave the insurance company the somebody else's name. For example the insurance company gets to do the telephoning and asking to find out who somebody else's insurance company is.

The insurance company's process of going after somebody else is called subrogation.

Disney hints: http://www.cockam.com/disney.htm

 

[Chelley00]

DS and his sister were running through the house, both came around a corner and bounced off each other, and DS hit a wall with his head and knocked himself out. I got a letter from our health insurance asking if it was a car accident, at someone else's house, if someone else had caused the accident etc. I just wrote on the form that it was an accident at home and never heard another thing about it. I thought it was awful they were trying everything to get out of paying the claim!

 

[cmaee]

My oldest DS hurt his arm playing soccer and we thought he broke it. He and another player got tangled up and crashed hard and awkardly on the ground. We took him to the ER and he ended up being fine, but a few weeks later we got a letter asking us to describe the accident in detail and wanted to know if we contacted an attorney. I put on the form that he and another boy were playing soccer and got tangeled up and fell...nothing more. It was an accident and that no we did not contact an attorney, nor were we. We didn't hear from them again and all bills were paid. It appears you are in a tough spot with what to do. I do think you have to fill out the information at least to show the name, address, and phone number. You really can't lie to them, if you do I am sure that you will end up paying the whole amount out of pocket. It stinks that an accident is going to end up becoming such a big deal. Insurance companies are all about the bottom line, so it is not surprising that they are going to go after someone else to pay the claims.

 

[allyphoe]

So why do we pay such high insurance premiums if they just want to sue a home owner's insurance company? Since when are trampoline accidents automatically covered by homeowners insurance rather than health insurance?

Oh, yeah, that happens. My dad was riding his bike in September when he was hit by a drunk (and uninsured) driver. His health insurance has essentially put a hold on all the bills, while they try to figure out what his uninsured motorist coverage will pay and what the health insurance will pay. He has costs that aren't covered by health insurance (a ramp to the house, for instance), and it's not clear yet whether there will be any money to cover those costs by the time the dust settles.

 

[clori]

op here - my husband gave me the name address and phone number for his coworker. I called the Healthcare Recoveries today to give them the info they asked for since I honestly didn't know it when I called the other day. When I first called I did tell them what happened but stated that I was there and allowed dd to go on the trampolene and that it was just a fluke accident. I was told a trampolene accident automatically went to the homeowners insurance and to call back with the info.

Today when I called I was told the event number was already closed out. I told the person that I didn't understand since I was calling back to give the required info and he said that the everything was set for the insurance company. I called Blue Cross and everything seems okay.