What happens if your child is injured at a friend’s house? Playdates let your child socialize with other children and have friends, but you entrusted your child into the care of other parents. In some cases, it can go horribly wrong. Kids will be kids where they scheme and imagine all sorts of mischief, but you have cases where your child suffers an injury because of it. What do you do next?
Awkward Situation: How to Deal With It
If your child suffered a serious injury while on a playdate, it can create an odd, even hostile, situation with the other family. How do you handle it? You don’t want to sue the parents of your child’s friend, and it feels awkward to ask them for money to get help for his injuries.
Let’s have a look at your options when your child suffered an injury during a playdate at a friend’s house. You want to handle this as delicately as possible to avoid spoiling the friendship if you can help it.
Seek Medical Attention
First, you will want to seek medical attention for your child. See the doctor at the hospital to have everything evaluated and documented and to determine the best course of action for your child’s recovery. Only a doctor can determine the extent of your child’s injuries, and if needed, you can use his testimony.
Who Was at Fault?
You have to look at who was at fault. Did the injury happen as a direct result of your child’s decisions or negligence or a toy defect? You might speak with your child and the friend’s family to learn what happened. Convene with them to discuss what happened and how you might proceed.
In cases where the child suffered an injury at the house of a close friend or family member, they certainly won’t want you to pay for it all. They might offer to help with your child’s medical expenses. This can remove part of the burden on you to pay for everything. However, you need to understand how this could bring up awkward feelings.
In some cases, it might even bring up hostility, but if your child suffered an injury because of negligence, you may not have to pay for it. The family of your child’s friend may even want to help. For those cases, it would be best if you were to work with them.
Filing a Lawsuit
Let’s say that your child’s friend’s family doesn’t offer to pay any of the medical expenses. In some cases, you may have no choice but to file a lawsuit to pay for the injuries. This opens a premises liability case. Read more information about understanding what premises liability is. You can also speak with a lawyer for a better understanding.
Explain to the parents of your child’s friend that you’re not suing them directly. Instead, you are suing their homeowner’s insurance policy to help pay for the injuries and ask that they please not take it personally. You will rarely have to sue the family of your child’s friend. You want to keep things cordial as much as possible to keep the friendship alive.
Under the worst of circumstances, the insurance policy for their family will rise a little bit. In comparison to the alternatives, this looks like the ideal choice.
Bottom Line
Unfortunately, you have no way around the awkwardness of it after your child suffers an injury like this. However, you don’t have to let it feel awkward or destroy the friendship. As much as possible, don’t let it spoil a good relationship for your child. Accidents happen while on playdates, and you don’t have to let your child’s friendship sour because of it.
You might even speak with a lawyer first because, in some cases, they’ve seen enough similar cases to advise you further on how to keep things cordial.