DD's Injury on Sledding Hill at School

[bigsis1970]

Hi everyone , I am just wondering if I am over reacting my DD has a FRACTURED GROWTH PLATE .. on Thursday 2-12 my DD got hurt on the sledding hill at school. her group went down hit a jump she bounced off and then a second group came down right after them ( as no teacher was watching and telling them when to go or wait ) and hit the jump and someone bounced on her ankle .. There are 2 teachers out at recess one for the blacktop and one for the hill the teacher who was Supposed to be watching the hill was on the blacktop with the blacktop teacher so didnt'/wasn't watching the 2nd group of kids . so my DD is now injured at the bottom of the hill and the Hill teacher finally notices and Makes Her WALK up the hill and into the school even though she is in alot of pain ! OK THAT is what I am MAD about .. the teacher made her walk !!!! her ankle immediately swelled up to about Grapefruit size and they called us to get her - we brought her to the First care and they took x-rays and said the swelling was too much to see at the moment what was going on so Yesterday we go to the Orthopaedic Dr and they said yes Growth plate Fracture after more x-rays . we have a splint till next Monday - hoping for more swelling to go down - then a cast for about 3 weeks and then Physical Therapy !!!

so am I over reacting that the teacher made her walk ! what do you think all responses welcome .. Thanks Michelle

 

[Scratch42]

I for one would want to know why the kids were not being supervised. And why, when it is obvious a child is injured the lazy, the board prevents me from saying, did not go to the child?

No you are not overreacting!

Pixie Dust to your DD for a speedy recovery!

Scratch

 

[cheeringmom]

I'm so sorry this happended to your daughter. Sounds terribly painful. Not sure of your school's policy on injuries, but if someone gets injured at our school, the school nurse is called out to the playground etc and makes a call if a child can walk back to the school etc. This is only followed if the injury seems bad, like a broken bone or head injury. I would call and find out the policy re: injuries on the playground then I'd make a complaint. I'm sure the teacher didn't do this on purpose but better safe then sorry.

 

[bigsis1970]

I have sent a note to her as well as my DD's teacher ( who is the teacher who was the one who had HILL DUTY ! ) saying I will be in on Monday afternoon to discuss why she didn't recieve any help from either of the adults on recess duty .

Our nurse wasn't in the school on Thursday !!

Thanks ! right now I think her armpits hurt more then her ankle ( as she is on 400 mgs every 6 hours of motrin for the swelling )

 

[CEDmom]

Your poor DD . Yes, I would be upset. The teacher had no idea the extent of your DD's injury which could have been further injured by walking on it. I'd think for insurance purposes the school would err on the side of caution and not allow a seriously injured child to be moved without medical assistance. Since the nurse was out someone should have at least helped your DD into the building. I know many injuries cannot be prevented even with an adult right there but this doesn't sound like the case. I'd definitely make sure they realize that had this activity been properly supervised this probably wouldn't have happened.

 

[Pop Daddy]

It was a bad call by the techers, and honest mistake, I think I would let it go

 

[jjskribs]

I'm very sorry about your daughter's injury . I am wondering how old your daughter is and why are they sledding at school?

I don't think it is a very good school policy to allow children to be sledding at recess time. I don't think it's fair of the school to expect teachers on recess duty to be supervising children who are sledding.

Children in my school are not allowed anywhere near snow when they are out to recess. Is this common practice at most schools to let children play in the snow?

 

[KristaTX]

I am sorry to hear that your daughter was injured at school. As a former full-time school nurse (and now substitute school nurse), I will take the opportunity to point out that this is yet another example of why ideally schools should have a nurse available every day. Teachers are not nurses and should not be expected to respond as a nurse might.

I am sure that the teacher feels very upset about the extent of your daughter's injury. She also probably feels embarrassed that she had left her post on the playground. My biggest concern would be that they even allow sledding at the school in the first place. That sounds like an unsafe activity even if the students are being closely monitored.

 

[CRB#33]

#1---They should have been supervised. (personally I don't think they should be doing this at all at recess.---Too dangerous all the way around.)

#2--Was your DD crying? Did she tell them she was in too much pain to walk? Or did she keep silent because the teachers told her to come up the hill?

If she told me that she was in bad pain and couldn't get up the hill, I would have gotten help to get her up the hill.

I would actually have the most problem if your DD was in obvious pain and indicated to the teacher that she was badly hurt. If she did not, then an honest mistake might have been made.

No nurse???? I'm not sure that's even legal! Even though our school nurse goes to different schools, there is ALWAYS a health aide.

Now I am certainly NOT talking about your DD, but I have students every day who claim to be hurt or sick. It happens every day, throughout the day. And 95% of the time there is absolutely nothing wrong. If my student walked up the hill on her own power after I told her to come up, limping, but not crying, I would have probably made an honest mistake and thought she was okay.

I'm sorry your DD is hurt . Ankle injuries stink. I hope she feels better quickly.

(Just on a side note, yesterday I had a student with one ailment after another, all day. He finally stuck his finger down his throat and threw up in the sink in the back of the room so I would send him to the nurse. He was back in 5 minutes with a normal temp. Evidently he does this all the time. I tell you this just to give you a bit of perspective from a teachers point of view )

 

[bigsis1970]

Hi - thanks for your input ..
I rechecked with DD ( she is 10 ) and asked about the accident .. she said that she fell off , someone fell on her . by the time she was hurt the rest of the kids had started up the hill and it was just to noisy for them to hear her so she had to climb up the hill herself . she was crying and when she got to the top a friend asked what was wrong and helped her to the teacher then the teacher in turn told the student to help my DD to the office . I still think at that point the teacher should have stepped in . The Principal wrote back - this is one of the things she told me -

"In some instances it has been necessary to have one of the teachers leave the playground with an injured student. This is not often the case, as we would then not have adequate supervision for the remaining students on the playground. "

Ok so she was crying and hopping on her good foot wouldn't that mean she was injured !!! maybe my DD wasn't worthy ( is what that statement means to me ) I think it was handled poorly and want someone to just admit that .. Michelle

 

[GoofItUp]

It sounds like there wasn't 'adequate supervision' to begin with. If there had been, the accident might not have happened. However, it sounds like she had some aid getting in, so there may not have been anything more the teacher could have done.

 

[CRB#33]

Very good point goofitup!

The ball was dropped when your DD was at the top of the hill. The very least the teacher could have done was sent a few children she trusted into the school for help.

I hope they don't allow this sledding to continue, especially since they aren't even watching the kids.

 

[cruisnfamily]

Originally posted by jjskribs
and why are they sledding at school?

I don't think it is a very good school policy to allow children to be sledding at recess time. I don't think it's fair of the school to expect teachers on recess duty to be supervising children who are sledding.

This is the first thing I thought!

So, do they allow sledding on a regular basis at you DD's school?

Does anybody else have a child at school where sledding is allowed during recess?

 

[bigsis1970]

I am not sure why its allowed other then there is a hill and teachers are supposed to be watching. I think it might not be anymore .. she actually asked my mom to send down her sled - just the plastic rollup kind - so she could bring to school altho my mom didn't I guess other kids have brought their own personal sleds in to use..

 

[pjlla]

They do allow sledding during recess at my DD's elementary school. Honestly, I'm not even sure what the supervision is like.....SHe just informed me that there are two teachers watching the sledding hill, and that one stands at the top and one stands at the bottom. Makes me feel a bit better. Don't know what else to say. Obviously someone dropped the ball somewhere regarding your daughter's situation. And I would certainly approach the school in a rather "thought you'd want to know" capacity rather than a "who's to blame" rage. But hope all goes well.... maybe you can get the recess policies revised so no more children get hurt.

As a side note, my brother was injured in elementary school (looooong time ago) on the playground. Another child ran into him and the other child's teeth went into my brother's forehead, causing a large bleeding gash. My brother was sent, alone (about 2nd grade, maybe 1st) into the building to go to the Nurse's office. He passed out on the way!! ......................P

 

[CajunDixie]

Do you pay for insurance at the beginning of the school year? If so, be sure to forward any unpaid medical bills that your own insurance does not cover. Just today I got a payment in the office from the school's insurance company from an accident from last year.......slow but at least the child's parents didnt have to pay anything.

 

[GoofItUp]

And I would certainly approach the school in a rather "thought you'd want to know" capacity rather than a "who's to blame" rage.

This is a very good idea as you'll probably get more accomplished this way so that something might be changed to prevent future accidents.

 

[newholiday]

Hope she heals quickly

 

[nativetxn]

Michelle, I'm so sorry that your sweet daughter has an injury. I hope the Motrin controls the pain and that she is 100% better very soon.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

I also can't believe some schools allow sledding. Most schools around here have dropped anything with even a hint of liability issues. P.E. at my HS had gymnastics, a trampoline, uneven bars--now PE seems to be soccer, badminton, and basketball--nothing where you could get hurt on equipment.
Of course the ground here is totally flat so sledding at school is a nonissue. I can say that only kids with snowsuits and boots are allowed to play in snow (when it's warm enough--if the wind chill is lower than 20 the kids have indoor recess). The other kids have to stay on the blacktop.
One day one of DD#2's friends got hurt in a minor way on the playground--The 2 supervisors had her pick a friend (DD#2) to walk her into the office to see the nurse. There were too many kids for them to leave. Perhaps one of your daughter's friends could have helped her inside. I think after this your school will be rethinking a few of its policies.
Robin M.