Legal question: Son breaks arm at friends house should they pay the medical bill? [Archive]

sylvia

3-28-17, 9:29pm

Unfortunately my 18 year old son went to hang out at friends house. He fell down their stairs and now his arm is broken. He will be in a cast for several weeks. He will miss work due to injury and most likely not qualify for his summer job. Thank God for insurance and all the specialists he will have to see. I wonder should they be responsible to pay for the premium? I just blows my mind how casual they are about this like its normal? I do not like these people. No one pushed him but still its their stairs. Any similar experiences?

catherine

3-28-17, 9:36pm

Yes, my son had a similar experience. He was at a backyard party and had to go to the bathroom. He saw a door, which opened out, rather than in, so he leaned in to the door expecting it to be a bathroom and it was a basement and he fell down the stairs and broke his shoulder. Couldn't work for a few weeks. Became depressed. Really was not a pleasant experience. My other son (a lawyer) said he could have tried to sue them, because of the way their door was set, but my son lives in the community and didn't want to make waves.

Unless the owners were negligent in any way, I don't know if you have a case.

bae

3-28-17, 9:38pm

Why would you expect them to pay the bill?

Ultralight

3-28-17, 9:49pm

They definitely broke his arm. They should pay the bill. You should also sue the heck out of them and probably press criminal charges too. This injustice will not stand!

Yppej

3-28-17, 9:51pm

I broke my foot at my friend's house when I was in high school and some people said to sue but I refused, and instead replaced their glass coffee table that I broke. We are still friends 35 years later.

Zoe Girl

3-28-17, 10:21pm

I don't understand, it was an accident that could have happened anywhere it sounds like. I have had something like 7 broken arms in my career with children. None of them were due to staff negligence or faulty equipment. No one even suggested suing us.

Right now I have a family that is pushing me beyond my limits! They have said for a long time that their child (7 year old, mild special needs) is bullied. This included last summer at camp when they said a 5 year old boy threw a paper towel in the bathroom and a time he learned the word poop. So now there has been an actual incident after school with a child, the same child had 2 incidents during the school day. I keep offering meeting times to learn more, and I have a behavior plan in place for the other child. Meanwhile they called the police and I learned that from the other family. I just spent 10 minutes talking about how they heard the other child say stupid and want to make sure he has consequences. So calling the cops, well, I hope they police didn't take this seriously.

Simplemind

3-29-17, 12:32am

My son broke his arm when a rope swing broke at somebody else's house. He was taken to the hospital with a pretty nasty fracture. An accident is an accident and we had insurance and I thought nothing of it. Imagine my surprise when sometime later the insurance company called me and asked where the accident occurred. I didn't think twice in answering. I then found out they intended to go after the money through the home owners insurance where the accident happened. I kinda felt bad about that because I do believe that accidents happen and that is what our insurance is for.

Chicken lady

3-29-17, 6:03am

Well, judgement removed - our legal system is designed to let you try to recover the money through their homeowners insurance.

opinion, this is one of the reasons insurance us so expensive. People often see this as harmless because "the insurance company" pays. "The Insurance company" then collects that money from the insured (as a group).

judgement reinstated - your son is 18. it sounds like it was an accident and no one else even contributed except by owning stairs. If it were my house I would be really sorry it happened, but no more sorry than if it happened at your house. If you were nasty about it, let alone sued me, your son and family would never be permitted on my property again, and I would be extremely careful in my dwellings with you in the future (as in "I'm sorry, I can't be involved in this bake sale with Sylvia, her son broke his arm at my house by his own fault and she sued us. Personally I wouldn't feel comfortable letting her volunteer, but that's your call.").

But I kind of believe in personal responsibility. As a result my kids and their friends got to do a lot of stuff growing up. I always asked the parents. We have a pond, a trampoline, bonfires, guns, raw milk.... Ds's best friend got his teeth knocked loose here in a fist fight when he was 16. I felt horrible about that. Fortunately his braces supported them enough that the orthodontist could fix them and his parents were more than reasonable. The boy who did it (not my son) was on a very short leash with me for a while. They have all grown to be good men.

Tybee

3-29-17, 9:08am

No, they should not pay his medical bill, and you should not ask them to. What a bad precedent to set for your son in how to live in the world with one's neighbors.

ToomuchStuff

3-29-17, 10:57am

I am unsure of who here is licensed to practice inside of Illinois, as I was unaware of any attorneys on this board. Legal questions should be directed accordingly, here, you will only get opinions and experiences where laws may differ.
I personally wonder why you think you have standing in this case. I would think that a lawyer could tell you your son could go after their homeowners insurance. Accident or neglect, depending on if something was left on the stairs. While your son may be under your insurance, I am unclear as to who is responsible for the deductible/copay and if, if you paid it, that you would then have to go after him and his winnings to collect. (effectively he sues them and you sue him for your costs)

Tammy

3-29-17, 11:09am

I would never sue in that circumstance. I don't care what the law says. No one harmed him - he fell all by himself.

sylvia

3-29-17, 11:42am

Thank you for your opinions. Im not out to sue I can only speak for myself what I would do.If this would've happened in my home, I would at least offer to pay the emergency room copay and express some concern. No one called to ask the next day if he is ok. DH drove by friends house next day to find out in person from the parents what happened. They claimed the people come over all the time and no one ever falls in their house. DS just lost his balance and fell landing on his side and elbow. All I can say Thank God for having insurance on our part. Now he is unable to work, not able to dress himself or put his shoes on, or even drive a car. He will have to figure it out. I know accidents happen but I would feel responsible somewhat to a point to make it right. He will be looking for new friends.

Teacher Terry

3-29-17, 12:38pm

Years ago my Mom fell on my steps while watching my kids. It never occurred to me to offer to pay her co-pays, etc. Accidents happen. However, she had to be off her feet for the next 6 weeks and my Dad was very ill so guess who went over everyday to take care of both of them. I cooked, cleaned, etc. I would have done that no matter where she fell because she is my Mom. If any of my kid's friends had gotten hurt and expected us to pay the co-pays I would not have allowed that kid on my property ever again.

sylvia

3-29-17, 1:26pm

I cant expect that out of others but I would expect that of myself to only offer to pay the hospital copay. It would be there right thing to do in my opinion and to show SOME concern. I hope he will have enough sense not to go there anymore.

Chicken lady

3-29-17, 1:38pm

I agree that a friend should show concern over an injury. I fail to understand on what basis a friend should pay your medical bills when they didn't cause them in any way.

also, if I had any thought that you might sue me, I would definitely not call to express concern out of fear that you would then turn around and use that against me in court as proof of guilt.

I also don't understand the "having sense to not go there" (are we missing the point that these are particularly dangerous stairs? The air in the house is bad leading to dizziness?). It seems like it would make more sense to hope that he had sense enough to stay away from stairs - which is silly.

i don't know if his relationship with these people was ever "friendship" but it sounds like yours definitely wasn't.

19Sandy

3-29-17, 6:33pm

In some cases, homeowners (or renters), are liable for medical bills and living expenses during recovery. This is what property or homeowners insurance is all about. You would need to contact an attorney though and your own health insurance company can document evidence or get involved. You would have to prove negligence such as a broken stair step, poor lighting, loose stair railing, no carpeting or loose carpeting on steps. Find an attorney who offers a free first consult, have witness statements and get your son's medical info together before the visit.

sylvia

3-29-17, 11:43pm

I fell down my stairs too so when ds friends come over we keep them downstairs and not running all over the house.we also tell them to go to the park if they want to run and be silly. Today dh went to ask for homeowners insurance and they are willing to provide the information . Hopefully it will all end well.

bae

3-30-17, 12:05am

Seriously, if they aren't at fault in some way, I don't see why you expect them to accept some sort of financial responsibility.

I'm pretty sure that if a friend/neighbor took this attitude, I'd never allow them on my property again.

Float On

3-30-17, 9:48am

When we first bought our house and our insurance agent was going over the policy line by line he said something like..."and this covers you if someone falls down your stairs and breaks a leg". Thankful I didn't have to use it the 2 times we came close - one child who plowed through our back door and another who fell down the stairs face first.

whisperingpines

3-31-17, 6:14am

This is what is wrong with society today, everyone is sue happy. The kid is 18 years old, was he talking on cell phone while walking down the stairs, was he going down the stairs to quickly? What was he doing that caused him to fall down the stairs. ( not paying attention). I would not allow him in the house again.

Gardnr

3-31-17, 7:00am

Was there something about those stairs that caused a fall? Loose carpet? Nail sticking out? Did he use the handrail? Was he taking them 2 at a time rather than walking them one at a time as intended? Was he not paying attention?

Accidents happen. If there wasn't a causal problem with their stairs why sue them? That seems so wrong

Just sayin'

sylvia

3-31-17, 10:16am

Got an update on the stairs. It turns out it was 10 stairs down to the basement, they are steep and carpeted. There are no hand railings on these stairs! Go figure where are the safety features? So if a guest falls down your carpeted stairs and they have no way to catch themselves, who cares let them pay their own bills. This is absolutely crazy! Their homeowners insurance rep called already with a claim number. I really hope for their own safety they put up a railing on their steep carpeted stairs.

LDAHL

3-31-17, 11:55am

My wife was injured in a fall on the premises of a business and we decided to sue. Fortunately the conditions and the incident were all filmed by a security camera. Still, it took close to five years to settle, and after legal fees, mediation fees and the subrogation deal with the health insurer we didn't recover close to all our costs.

Expect a denial or lowball offer from the homeowner's insurer, and a lot of time and effort expended if you decide to pursue a legal claim.

Tammy

3-31-17, 12:33pm

I still wouldn't sue.

It's basement stairs in a private home - not a public area.
Your son has insurance.
He fell accidentally.
No one pushed him.

This is the cost of being alive.

Chicken lady

3-31-17, 12:41pm

Well, it sounds like you have come up with cause to go after the homeowners insurance.

i hope that you are happy with the outcome.

i also hope the family involved will install a rail to protect themselves in case they have any more "friends" like your son. So that if nothing else there won't be another incident at their house that leads to higher home owner's insurance rates for all of us - including you (even if you rent, your landlord passes costs on.)

Teacher Terry

4-3-17, 2:14pm

If I were those people I would not let your kid over again.

Reyes

4-4-17, 10:37pm

No, I don't think the friend should pay your adult son's medical bills (heck, even if he was a minor I would think that to be the parent's responsibility). I'm assuming your son, at the top of the stairs, saw there was no hand railing and proceeded anyways. Personal responsibility. And accident.

sylvia

4-5-17, 9:48am

I think it should be reasoning like this :"Honey we need to reinstall the railing on the stairs, I fell, you fell now the neighbor's kid fell. Lets start fixing this soon because now our homeowners insurance will be breathing down our neck." Is it worth all this trouble for being lazy?" or, "lets not have anyone hang out in the basement , since the railing is gone, and we dont want to fix it, keep the friends out of there."As home owners lets be responsible after all we invited him to our home, he didnt sneak in or break in and use or stairs. He came to hang out with our sons." The owners have been very gracious actually about this we just want compensation for the copays.

sylvia

4-5-17, 9:54am

For those thinking they wouldnt pay for friends injury,,,,, if this happened to your kid,, you would want something done. If you had no insurance and this happened to your kid you would want something done. Its easy to judge and to say I wouldnt pay etc. until it happens to you!If your friends parents dont care about your kids safety in their home its best to not be friends with them since they dont care!

ToomuchStuff

4-5-17, 10:17am

Sylvia, your assuming they have fallen. My grandmother lived in a home, with no railing on the basement stairs (common), and only fell when she was in her late 60's on a piece of laundry that she dropped. He may for all we know, have been the first one to have fallen.
As for wanting something done, well in that aspect your right, as I would use that to teach him WHY have an emergency fund. Saving for a rainy day, this isn't a desert planet. I also expect they are not going to want him over there again, or at least on any thing that wasn't one level.

Simplemind

4-5-17, 11:38am

Unfortunately my 18 year old son went to hang out at friends house. I do not like these people. No one pushed him but still its their stairs. Any similar experiences?
We did have a similar experience and no, I would not expect them to pay. I can't help but feel that a lot of this has to do with the fact that you don't like these people and don't want your son to be friends. My kid has been to ER three times with broken bones. All happened on a property not owned by us and I never felt the cash should be coming from somebody else's pocket. Two of those breaks involved surgery and he was not down for long. Would you be going through so much angst if it happened at your best friends house?

bae

4-5-17, 12:06pm

My mother-in-law's house has a truly terrifying basement stair, with no rail, that is narrow, twisty, and uneven. The house was built in the 1800s. I've been convinced I would perish on this thing since I was 14. Nobody has ever fallen and injured themselves on it. She was navigating it successfully when she was in her 80s.

I was just at my father-in-law's place. Same sort of stair. House also from the 1800s. He's in his 90s.

I don't think it reasonable to expect full OSHA/ADA safety/access protocols in private residences.

I do think that people who expect someone else to pay for an accident when there is no fault are bad actors.

Tybee

4-5-17, 1:01pm

My son's leg was broken at a school football practice, and it was an at-fault situation with another player.
Believe me, the thought of suing the school or the other family never, ever occurred to me.

I don't understand why you would sue someone because your kid--and at 18 he is not a kid anymore--hurts himself at someone's house. He is an adult, so that really boggles my mind.

sylvia

4-5-17, 1:10pm

The owners admitted to falling on the stairs before. Im not assuming anything- its what they told us. Fix your damn stairs.They are not paying directly. Their homeowners insurance is and has agree to pay after taking a statement, and they should investigate those stairs if they will continue to insure. Lesson learned fix your stairs.