Hello lads, I'm in a bit of a dilemma and I'd like to run my situation by you.
On the 12th of June I took part in my daughter's sports day, much against my better judgement and protestations that I really didn't want to take part in a 'Dad's Race', but at the 3rd attempt at coercion, I reluctantly lined up.
The race was on a little public football pitch behind the tiny school.
(Just as a side note, the 'Mum's race' went off 1st and one of the Mums fell over and gouged her forehead with her glasses as she fell.)
As we lined up on the goal line to race to the half way line, we set off and half way, I fell over and landed heavily on my left shoulder.
It turned out that the pitch was cut with one of these roller cutters towed behind a tractor. The grass was nice and level but there was a hidden depression in the ground unseen by both the woman who fell and me.
Now, I've been in serious pain for 2.5 months and am taking prescription painkillers - 8 a day. I have had to go private and have seen the consultant and a surgeon. Have had an Xray and an MRI Scan which showed a clear break in one of the 4 tendons that make up your rotator cuff.
The operation on the 15th of September will consist of cutting open the shoulder, discovering which of the 4 tendons is broken, putting a stitch in it and pulling it down as far as it can go to where it should be. It'll then be fixed in place and then I have to let it fix and grow and mend after which I'll have my arm in a sling for 6 weeks followed by 10 months of physio.
At the moment I can't lift my arm above my waist, forward or sideways. I can lift a 20kg bag of salt out of the boot of the car, but can't turn a light switch on. If I sit a bit crooked in the car seat, I can just reach 1st gear.
After the 15th, I'll be able to do none of that. Just my right hand only.
So that'll be around a year of varying degrees of pain and considerable inconvenience, limitations and restrictions. Then there's the considerable expense involved in going private. My health cover includes some but not all the outgoings that have been and will be involved. It covers the surgeon but not the physio... it certainly doesn't cover the surgeon's consultations at €150 a pop.
Dilemma is.... if I go for compensation, I risk alienating the little school to which Susie will be attending starting on the 4th. If I claim against the council, then in all likely hood, the school will not be allowed to use the pitch for any more communal events inc sports day.
It's a tiny little pre school. 2 classrooms, 6 teachers about 25 little kids...
Any advice lads?
Claim against the school
Claim against the council
Suck it up and do nothing.
