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168 Comments
Todd E. Tornow said on January 1, 2011 at 4:42 am #
Kid comes to middle school drunk.
She grabs a bottle of liquid hand sanitizer and drinks it while waiting to be picked up by parents.
School removes and bans all liquid hand sanitizers, all just before flu season.
It happened here.
ALPINE said on January 1, 2011 at 11:15 am #
I think our court system is the biggest joke in the WORLD. They are the ones who entertain these fribulous lawsuits and that opens the door for others. Most people who file these lawsuits are looking for a big payoff because they need money in some form or fashion or they think they are going to be set for life.
Jon Wells said on January 1, 2011 at 4:36 pm #
Is the parent looking for a freebee, looking to correct a wrong, or just plain mean. Swings are part of the American/World’s landscape. They build up, not tear down. Most users have fun, exercise their arm, stomach, back, and leg muscles, while aiding mental, and social building opportunities. Unsupervised swings are a fact of life, not evidence of negligence. If a kid/school have a documented negligence relationship, then their might be something here. If the parent is attempting to correct a flaw, great! If they are just mean spirited/profit minded, shame on them. If they are financially challenged, they should might check into some social medical help programs. But the school does not seem to be ‘painfully’ at fault on this. Doors close, hands can be in them, and that does not mean the door owner is at fault. All the facts must be looked at.
Life’s many manageable hazards include ‘recognized’ focus action machines, including swings, jumping jacks, bats and balls, and fancy running shoes. Some people will get hurt, most will not. Injury is one of life’s realities. Short of being in a plastic bubble, stretching our bodies abilities, exercising, or just plain having fun, comes with risk. The question here is was there gross negligence, not just acceptable risk. Parents, childhood has risk, unless you want a plastic child.
Depending upon how this injury occurred (goofing around, didn’t know what could happen, lack of ability to hold on once up on the swing), has some bering on how responsible the swing owner might have. If thereSome people will attempt to get help. Others will try to use a good system to ‘profit’ from the normal downs of life, or will try to shut down life for others, or both. Swings have a long history. A ‘new’ user on it can’t be expected to ‘know’ how to avoid all of its dangers, but this ‘provided’ action focus machine seems to be self informative to most. Perhaps the parent should have told the school that her child might need special help. The school is not negligent for providing a ‘typical’ benefit of physical activity by providing a swing. Swings have well known properties, actions, and benefits that society understands. Some people will get hurt in a rubber padded room, and get defensive for having this fact pointed out. I think this parent is looking for a freebee. There is a lot to be said about the damage of removing the swing due to the well understood benefits swings provide, including instant motivation for physical activity for all kinds of people–sports minded, nurds, physically challenged, etc.,. Swings provide a sort of mini life classroom out doors, with its risks and benefits, including mental and physical stimulation.
tom said on January 1, 2011 at 7:20 pm #
Why doesn’t the school board have liability insurance? It is foolish for them not to have it. If they have insurance, then the “costs of litigation” are paid by the insurance company and not an issue.
carla said on January 1, 2011 at 8:08 pm #
Are they going to sue themselves when the child falls at home?!
Bob said on January 2, 2011 at 2:55 am #
If my children are hurt on someone elses watch you better believe I’m gonna sue. Yay free money!
Carmen said on January 2, 2011 at 6:59 am #
I think it is time for a panel of individuals with a brain – at least pass an IQ test – to hear cases such as this to see if it would warrant a day in court. If there is no evidence of intentional harm done, then it does not proceed to court.
C.Seavers said on January 3, 2011 at 1:42 am #
It is so sad that greedy people these days look for any way to sue someone; even allowing our children to lose exercise equipment. No wonder we have so many obese kids.
Fred Sheely said on January 3, 2011 at 4:28 am #
Are you kidding me? What a bunch of idiots! Bactine and a Band-Aid. And a kiss on the boo-boo by Mommy can heal . The rest of the grown ups in the school district should sue those parents for emotional damage to their children.
Troy Hendrickson said on January 3, 2011 at 11:33 am #
Anyone can find what are in fact isolated incidents of lawsuit abuse.
But from what I can tell you receive the bulk of your funding from people who would rather not face any consequences at all for their bad behavior.
So how seriously should we take you?
Somce of your supporters think screwing people is a legitimate business tactic and you help them get away with it.
Teresa Smith said on January 3, 2011 at 11:47 am #
If the lawyers are going to take these cases then it is up to the Judges to throw these cases out. After awhile you will have to be afraid to even say hello to someone for fear of getting sued. How sad that this country is going down the tubes.That parent should just keep their children inside the house and not let them do anything for fear of getting hurt. Oh wait they might sue the people who built the house if they are stuck inside too long and get sick.
Rebecca Breland said on January 3, 2011 at 11:48 am #
Removing the swing sets will not prevent lawsuits from people like this man. He will just find something else to sue over. He is a greedy, money seeking person. Perhaps this behavior was promoted by the economy. Even a paper cut that occured with school book would appeal as lawsuit material to him. I am glad that I am a member of WV CALA. This abuse needs to stop.
irenefournier said on January 3, 2011 at 11:50 am #
i think people are so money hungry that they will dom anything to get free money especially if the child was not seriously hurt i would like to hear from the parentsbut i know thats impossible
Katharine said on January 3, 2011 at 3:32 pm #
So the school district made a stupid decision. They should have let the swings stay open —there are always people who will file a lawsuit. Probably could have settled the casefor less money at the very beginning–why did your attorneys wait for 3 years. They waited because they were charging you hourly
muriel merrill said on January 3, 2011 at 4:06 pm #
What about the law suit against Wal-Mart where the woman are sueing them for making less then the men who work for them.
Meg said on January 3, 2011 at 4:08 pm #
This is ANOTHER reason to have universal healthcare, so people don’t have to SUE to afford the kids hospital bills! Kids will get hurt, it’s called learning your limitations..
Doyt Trail said on January 3, 2011 at 4:43 pm #
I believe the parents of these children were only looking to take wrongful advantge of the court system. And it says they got a settlement? I only wonder about a court system that would allow them to abuse the court system in such a way!
Adina B said on January 3, 2011 at 4:46 pm #
Have the parents sign waivers like the ones used when a contractor does work at your house.
P L Bruinsma said on January 3, 2011 at 5:53 pm #
This is how ignorant and ridiculous people have become. Shame on you for being so greedy such bad examples parents are setting…Can you imagine how these children will be as parents…and don’t even get me started on the lawyers…lowest life forms, bottom feeders…
RON said on January 3, 2011 at 6:51 pm #
The problem is that everyone is looking for excuses to sue. This family shoild be ashame and be ousted by the school.
jeff davis said on January 3, 2011 at 7:58 pm #
I think the parent (or parents) are MONEY HUNGRY! this is the stupidest thing I have heard of late…any child should have the right to play on a swingset…to file a lawsuit, it should be required to have been defective in the injury of a child..in other words, the school district should not have to pay to defend itself, until the parent PAYS for an investigation to prove it defective..if it wasen’t, a lawsuit would not be allowed to be filed…SHAME ON THIS PAREST!
Sue said on January 3, 2011 at 8:12 pm #
I think those parents should be banned from the playgrounds and let the other children have fun and play. Or else have everyone sign a waiver release.
Jim said on January 3, 2011 at 8:55 pm #
This is the problem with litigation in America. Kid’s play tag, one falls down, caps a tooth, and the parents sue. No More recess. No wonder obesity is rampant. Fat parents looking for easy money. Growing up, touch football in our playground turned into all out. tackle football on concrete. Basketball was a war. Our parent’s watched it, no one ever thought abou6t suing.
Dawn said on January 3, 2011 at 9:55 pm #
I think that people are not of very good character these days with the economy being as tight as it is. I think its rediculous that the population in general are considered SUE HAPPY, thats how i see it. Let kids be kids! Parents should know if a child gets hurt on a school playground and/or breaks a bone take them to the hospital get the child looked at and the schools will usually pay for the bill, i know this happened to my schoolage children at one point, senseless people to senseless things. There are other avenues to go besides suing these days. No need for it! I see this happeneing everywhere it sucks, because people are money hungry and only way they think to get money is by suing. This irritates me.
Jay Taylor said on January 3, 2011 at 10:36 pm #
I don’t know. I don’t think kids need swingsets at school to enjoy being a kid. My school playground didn’t have any swings or jungle gyms, but I still had a great time, playing tag or softball.
tammy said on January 3, 2011 at 10:56 pm #
those parents that sued 4 theyre kids getting should keep the kids at home and buy them their own swingset ,so when they get hurt lplaying on that they can sue themselfs.and they need to get a life and a job or just let the kids play. things happen now the other kids are being punished for nothing.
Nan said on January 4, 2011 at 12:24 am #
They should just keep those children from using the playground, the family that placed two lawsuits should be barred from using the swings or any other possible recreational toy or device that might prove harmful.
Lawstudent said on January 5, 2011 at 5:37 pm #
So you’d prefer no recorse if your kid gets hurt?
Debbie Mosley said on January 6, 2011 at 6:21 pm #
Oh my goodness. Some people cannot think of anything other than lawsuits. How sad. Yes, kids might get scrapes and brises. My own daugher broke her arm while roller blading BUT we didn’t trhrow away the roller blades OR remove the concrete driveway. And I wasn”t at home but I didn’t sue the lhomeowner or blame them. Children have to grow and learn. They should get the opportuniy to do fun things … which may even inspire them Ths woman should get rid of the electric cords in their home, the knives and the scissors .. Heavenforbid that the children might get hold of them and the have to sue the knife maker or the scissor maker. Reminds me of people who sue the lawnmower companies cause they got cut on the blade.or the gun companies because they got shot with the gun, or the coffee restaurant becaus they got burned on the coffee, Duh. Lawn mower blades are sharp. AND coffee is SUPPOSED TO BE HOT. The person has to learn from childhood up to be careful and have a decent respect for lightning , electricity, lawn mower blades and knives, mousetraps, hot coffee, and YES, they have to learn to play “carefully” on the playground… so that they do NOT get hurt!! We all have lessons to learn and childhood, of course, is FILLED with so many of them… Children have to learn.. and so do adults. Maybe these people had parents just like them??? I am the first to admit I do not know the WHOLE story. But now all the children ‘suffer’ the loss of the playground equipment because of one set of parents who, at least according to this story, could not let their child learn from their mistakes to be more careful on the swingset. What kind of responsible adult will that turnout? well, just my opinion.. and I know… everybody has one…
Debbie Mosley said on January 6, 2011 at 6:23 pm #
Forgive me .. my keyboard seems to be sticking and also missing letters. Hope my comment will make sense to someone.
Anita said on January 6, 2011 at 6:27 pm #
Shame on the parents that suited the school.
Money hungry people are out there doing this kind of thing and making others miss out on what should be theirs. If your to stupid to teach your kids how to use a swing, you should be sued. SHAME SHAME SHAME ON YOU!!!
Patricia Hogan said on January 6, 2011 at 6:37 pm #
How far will we really have to go? Its not just the school playgrounds but also our city parks. I am 53 years old and have lived in Southeast kansas all my life. The city of Independence Ks. has always been known for there park and zoo. When I was a kid it was a big thing to go there for the day, to play on the swings, slides and ect. I remember taking along a roll of wax paper so we could get the fastest ride on what we thought were the tallest slides anywhere. One of those slides is a spiral slide. For over 50 years kids have come from all around to ride the “curleycue” as we knew it. This past year the discussion was brought up to remove the slide from our park. Insurance rates are too high to cover such a thing.To my knowledge no one has ever been killed on these slides. Broken arms, or concussions yes, probably but, is it really more danderous now than it has been in 50 years? I can’t believe that. Do the parents today think that the parents 50 years ago weren’t good parents, or didn’t care if their children got hurt, I don’t think that is the case either. After-all we are the children and/or grandchildren of that generation. I know that when I was going up and down those slides my parents were right there with me. Could this be the problem. I don’t know. We keep taking things away so they keep trying new things. I’m just saying let the kids have some old fashioned fun, and maybe they won’t look for new ways to do it.
Cara said on January 6, 2011 at 6:45 pm #
I bet those parents are REALLY popular now.
Gigi said on January 6, 2011 at 11:03 pm #
The people who filed these two SEPARATE suits because of kids being kids ought to be ashamed of what they’ve done to their school. Then again, they wouldn’t even consider what their actions might do to others – this is the typical litigant who files nuisance suits as a “get rich quick” scheme and that’s all they care about. I hate people like this. I wish they had been required to accept their settlement checks in front of a full school auditorium of kids, parents and teachers – all who get to bear the results of their little gold-digging venture. Boo on them!!!
Mariah said on January 7, 2011 at 4:38 pm #
This is soooooooo wrong! All because of one parent. Shame on that parent and shame on his attorneys!
Robert Weber said on January 7, 2011 at 10:41 pm #
What a shame! Lawyers and lawsuits ending another fond memory of childhood. These types of lawsuits need to be thrown out at the parents cost. It use to be that schools sold a small accident policy to cover medical arising out of these types of accidents.
Cora Wilson said on January 7, 2011 at 10:58 pm #
The parents should be sued for depriving the other students from having what has turned out the only type of exercise schoold can provide students. I was in school from the ’60′s to the ’70′s. If I went home with scrapes or bruises I would get my butt busted because I was the one fooling around on the playground.
john jordan said on January 8, 2011 at 12:24 pm #
the family should be chargedwith not protecting their kidsholou
robert clark said on January 8, 2011 at 1:47 pm #
What if a book from an overhead shelf hits a student on the head? Will they close the library?
sheila mccomas said on January 8, 2011 at 10:26 pm #
Swings are more than fun. They help children develop sensory and coordination as well as strength for things like handwriting. I can’t believe some jury or court (including the judge) let this family win two lawsuits because of a swing. Sounds like this family and their bloodsucking lawer should be sued for greediness.
hap said on January 9, 2011 at 10:17 am #
ostracize these families, individuals and weasel lawyers that negatively impact the majority of normal, healthy and active children. this is akin to outrageous malpractice settlements that coerce doctors to pay for minor mistakes so they can continue good work.
sandy said on January 9, 2011 at 10:20 am #
If our court system did not promote these issues by awarding the complainant for ridiculous lawsuits, these things would not happen. We have lost common sense and justice in our Court Systems.We pay for it ourselves because of it.
Anita Gayle Royalty said on January 9, 2011 at 12:30 pm #
That is just wrong, Kids will fall, kids will get hurt..what’s next the parents gonna sue the ground for having to much gravity?
Margaret said on January 10, 2011 at 9:14 pm #
Use rope. Large rope, with a big knot at the end; as I’ve seen in Navy obstacle courses.
Sit on the rope’s knot. Swing. It’s soft. Schools never used to provide swings, it was for parents, or for city playgrounds.
Schools really shouldn’t have to worry about providing swings, or playgrounds. Kids could be gardening, or track & field. Street games – don’t need these elaborate, expensive playground sets.
Sharon Nolen said on February 23, 2011 at 3:13 pm #
Leave the swings, why punish all the children and parents. Take recess or playing on the playground equipment away from those parents and children, if they object to that, then make it there responsibility to be at the school, supervising their children while on recess, if they can’t be there to supervise, then no recess for them. Also, I would have those teachers inspect them on a daily basis for any little mishap and make sure that abuse charges are filed against the parents until the children are taken away. The law can be a double edged sword. Use it.
Sharon Nolen said on February 23, 2011 at 3:15 pm #
I wrote the wrong ‘there’ in a sentence. Should have been ‘their’. I’m just feeling a little mad at the parents. OOOOPS. My English teacher would have caught it.
Shawn said on February 24, 2011 at 9:38 pm #
Why, oh why would the school decide to settle on this case? Kids get bumps and bruises their entire lives… This is not just about a family that is trying to ‘get rich quick’ but about a school board and an insurance company that doesn’t have the guts to stand up for what is right vs wrong.
Shunta said on February 25, 2011 at 5:43 pm #
Are these parents serious?!!!!! Shame on yall. You’re only punishing the children with you foolish lawsuits, I mean really. Don’t you remember play on the playgrounds and getting hurt, it’s all part of being a kids. What morons. Get a life.
Jim Rasor said on February 26, 2011 at 1:03 am #
Folks. There are two sides to every story, and this video shows only one of them. Why are they afraid to show both sides of this story? I have some questions: How bad were the kids hurt? How many children had been hurt? Was there something about these swings that made them more dangerous than normally expected? Its great to bash people that sue…until your kid is hurt! Then you’ll be the first one on the court house steps demanding that the responsible person pay for your kids medical care, home modifications and for necessary prescriptions!
Lori said on February 26, 2011 at 4:05 pm #
Everyone thinks these suits are a tragedy and shameful – but when will we do something about it? When will we have tort reform??? When will we limit the money that can be won in these frivolous lawsuits? When will we stop the madness that is dictating our society, our actions, costing us millions for healthcare???? It’s a fairly simple fix; must we demonstrate and riot of get common sense laws???