I never thought I would be the type

[jessrice]

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[jessrice]

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[Hoover]

May your son have a full recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your entire family. We wish him well.

[Pappy]

First let me offer my prayers and best hopes for your son's recovery. Work on keeping him in a positive frame of mind. His attitude can have a lot to do with the healing.

On the other side, I am with you in that the world has become sue happy. This is not one of the frivolent cases that make the news. The student should be held accountable from a legal standpoint for the injuries he caused. I have mixed feelings about how much responsibility the parents have in a case like this involving teenage kids. If he was brought up in a manner that contributed to his attitude, then they are at least partially responsible.

I would think the school is responsible and accountable even if there is a hold harmless agreement in place since it has already been determined that the teacher was not physically present and providing proper supervision.

These thoughts are only personal opinion and, YES, you need to consult with and retain an attorney!

[jwaterdawg]

Our family will be praying for the health and recovery of your son and your family. I really hope everything works out, both short term and long term.

[crokett]

Oh well, I guess it is what it is, and I need to put my son and family first, and let others think what they want.

Jesse,

I will be praying for your son and your family.

Above is the key sentence. I'm not saying sue or don't sue, I am saying make your decision on what is best for you and your family. I would also take Pappy's advice and consult an attorney. Certainly the school is mand my guess the parents of the other teenager are. There are a lot of very smart people on this forum but I wouldn't ask my lawyer for woodworking advice, you know what I mean?

[cgallery]

First of all, my prayers are with you.

2nd of all, why I agree that lawsuits are rampant, there is a time and a place for personal injury attorneys, and this is one of them.

Due to the complexity of your son's injury, it is hard to know what his future holds. The brain is remarkable, able to adjust to a host of injuries without a hint of an underlying problem. Sometimes.

And as you've already learned from the surgeon, the medical system isn't always perfect at explaining the ins and outs of an injury like this. Lots of guessing. And while more and more tests could certainly help you understand possible ramifications, those tests may not be ordered unless someone asks the right questions.

So I'd at least speak w/ a couple of attorneys, explain the situation (send them copies of your posting), explain your concerns, and ask them for advice. If you feel comfortable with one, hire him and let him help you.

Again, while getting reimbursed for your losses is important, it is more important to make certain your son gets the best medical care and you understand any remaining deficit (hopefully none), and I really think an attorney can help in all these regards.

And before people lam-bast me for this, let me just remind everyone that most of us are probably from a generation where you took responsibility for your actions. If someone hit your car in the middle of the night, you often had a note on it and they paid to have it fixed. Things are SOOOO different these days. Absolutely no personal responsibility. All CYA. People, institutions. They wallpaper with CYA.

[os1kne]

I hope that your son recovers as completely as possible (hopefully 100%).

I can't imagine what you've been going through with this ordeal. Regarding the possible lawsuit, definitely consult with a competent attorney that has experience in this type of matter - and has been successful. Every attorney in the phone book would probably love to represent you and will try to convince you that they are as good as anyone, but that just isn't true - most have little experience with this type of thing and are only looking for a big contingency fee - because this appears to be a "slam-dunk" that would be difficult to lose. Don't use a friend or friend-of-a-friend unless you are comfortable that they have experience with this type of case and are good at what they do.

I have had a working relationship with over a dozen attorneys over the past 10 years - most of them are good at what they do - business law, collections, divorse, wills, traffic tickets, etc. only a couple have done med.mal and personal injury - I'm sure that they all would love to take your case, but when I think about who I would use if I were in your situation, there are only two that I'd even consider.

If you have an attorney that you trust, but the expertise of their practice is in another area - ask them who they would use to represent them if they were in your shoes. Where do you live? If you live around Dallas, TX, I know some good attorneys that would steer you in the right direction.

I truly hope that your son recovers 100% in a short period of time and the extent of your damages is minimal - I'm sure that your medical insurance co. will go after the other family for the medical expenses. The damages for you are impossible to put a dollar value on - if your son has permanent damage (God forbid), no amount of money will fix things - all you can do is talk to a good attorney and do the best you can.

God bless and good luck!

[gjat]

Jesse,
I too am anti-suing. Recently, my BIL had his leg broken by an idiot. My sister is a court reporter and knows the legal system well. She too thinks people are sue-happy. BUT many people and organizations will sue you because a good defense is a good offense. The guy who attacked my BIL filed a suit against my BIL. Ridicuoulus, but it's a good defensive tactic.

Hire a good personal injury lawyer. Not one that you see that will sue anyone for anything. It's to protect your son. You son did take a swing at the other kid, so a lawyer could argue your son is 50% liable and cut the part the school pays for medical care by 50%. When it's big $$ and lawyers, reason goes out the window.

Ask around about a good lawyer. Interview them and get an idea of their mind set. You want a lawyer to protect your rights in the legal system. Be sure the school and the other parents will contact lawyers who will do anything to minimize the amount of money they may have to pay.

Please, please, please, get a lawyer. It's not violating your principles to get a lawyer who is working to protect your son's rights. You don't have to get a greedy lawyer who says he'll make you a millioinaire. The School doesn't know that, so they are assuming worse case scenario, and getting thier lawyer who will try to get them out of everything. If you don't have a lawyer, you risk losing any and all reimbursement from the school.

Sorry if I sound worked up, but I see first hand what my BIL is going through and the guilty party lawyered up. What seemed simple turned into a big mess because the other guy knows he was wrong (he attacked) and got a lawyer to keep him out of jail and to get out of paying $200,000 in medical bills. Sadly, even nice and reasonable people need lawyers to protect themsleves from people who won't own up to their responsibilities.

[ironhat]

If someone falls on *your* property or is bitten by *your* dog while at your house you are responsible for the medical expenses. That is true of the school district as well, in my non-professional opinion. It may not be their fault but they still bear responsibility. If there are residual issues the same applies. So, I don't see you as being a money hungry grubber - you're just trying to be a good Dad and take care of you boy. There's a big differenc between doing what's right and filing frivolous lawsuits.
Blessings on you and your son,
Chiz

[Ed62]

Hi Jesse,

It wasn't long ago, I started a thread on medical malpractice. There were a lot of differing opinions posted on the subject. Like you, I don't believe in lawsuits unless there is no doubt someone else is responsible for what happened. Having said that, I can't tell you what you should do. There's no doubt that you need to protect your family, and their future. You'll have to make your decision based on your priorities, and having them in the right place when making the decision. I think your first priority has to be your son, and your family.

It sounds as though you were not very happy with the surgeon. Bedside manners really are not the most important thing. It's that he/she is competent, and did their best to try to help your son. It's nice to have someone that is personable, but that's not always the case.

My prayers are with you and your family through this hard time. I'm sorry to hear what happened, and I wish a full recovery for all. Please keep us up to date on his progress.

Ed

[sacherjj]

I felt exactly the way that you did about lawyers and lawsuits 2 years ago. I felt terrible about how many people sue about the stupidest things. However, I now feel differently, if the lawsuit isn't frivolous. I'm thankful that neither of our issues directly relate to the health of myself or those I love and my prayers are with you. However, there is a place for lawyers, because there is a guarantee that everyone else will be using them against you.

We are currently in a lawsuit over the property value of our home. A machine shop next to the land later turned into our housing development poured tetrachloraletheleyne (sp?) into their septic system. This flowed under 50% of our now subdivision. We now have only 65% of the houses built and some lots with pipes sticking out of the poured foundation. We are upside down on our mortgage, because of the complete drop in house value. We can't sell, because no bank will write a new mortgage on our property, due to the contamination. We are still in litigation to receive the difference in value between what we paid for the home and what the current market value is.

Our second issue is related to National City Bank. They developed a computer error that caused them to deposit the mortgage payment into a holding account, rather than actually apply it to our mortgage. After receiving notices about foreclosure, we contacted National City. It is odd to get foreclosure notices for a property you are making payments on. They assured us that it was being taken care of. That was until we received notice that our home was going to be up for Sheriff Sale. We now wish that we didn't wait until then to get a lawyer. As fast as we could move, their lawyers dragged their feet. We would next day signed documents and they would forget about sending them until we took off work to drive to the offices and force them to sign them. We received the injunction against auctioning off our house the morning of the Sheriff Sale. For all our stress and such, we only were able to squeeze out $1k extra from National City, applied to the principal of our mortgage. Due to the above issue, we are still upside down, but a little less.

Protect your family. Don't feel like a villain because you are not the reason why you are in this situation and you should not suffer any more because of it. My opinion anyway.

[SHADOWFOX]

Hi Jesse,

Our prayers and thoughts will be with your son and your family. He seems like a strong and physically fit kid so I am hoping recovers pretty well. As they say physically fit person recover faster and better than any regular person.

My kudos to you for handling the whole thing pretty well. I am not sure what I would have done to the teacher if I was in your shoes. These kids should have been under full supervision by their teacher.

In reference to whether to sue or not to sue, my only opinion to the matter is to do what you think needs to be done to ensure that your son can receive the type of medical and physicall care needed for him to fully recover mentally and physically.

Hang in there bud!

[JR]

You need a lawyer.

It doesn't matter whether you intend to sue, or would consider suing, or would never sue. There's big-bucks happenings going on here, with insurance companies, government agencies, hospitals, unions, and private individuals involved.

If you don't retain a competent civil litigator, who will look out for your son's interests, he'll get the short end of the stick.

Best wishes for his speedy and complete recovery.

JR

[jackellis]

I'm glad your son is on the mend and that the injury wasn't any worse. Like many others who have responded, I don't generally like the idea of suing someone. My wife was sued by her sister's ex-husband for a stupid reason that ate up tens of thousands of dollars of an education trust before the judge essentially ruled against the former BIL (a lawyer, BTW).

In this case, though, I think you need help from an attorney. Not the type that might be considered an ambulance chaser, but someone who is honest and competent. Friends and relatives are typically not good choices because they get too emotionally involved at a time when some objectivity and detachment are necessary. You need advice from someone who can help you preserve your rights and make sure your son is cared for.

As far as strategy, you might consider trying to work out some kind of settlement first, but that professional help from a competent lawyer is to help you make sure you don't forfeit your right to take further action if a reasonable settlement doesn't materialize. In this case, I'm thinking the parents *are* liable because their son is a minor child. Your son will have medical bills for a long time and I presume you want to make sure he's properly taken care of.

The instructor in that classroom needs to be fired, pronto. He (she?) lost control of the kids. That's inexcusable. He didn't treat the whole situation with sufficient concern. That's also inexcusable. It's one of the things I'd press the school board to do as part of any settlement.

I'm not sure putting the other kid in prison is such a good idea, other than to scare the crap out of him. Instead, he needs to make restitution - for the rest of his life if necessary - so that you and your son are not on the hook for the damage that kid has done.