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1/9/2008
Gee, this story sounds familiar As I was reading the complaint about the mother who sued the Putnam County Board of Education over her son’s skateboarding accident (see story here), I couldn’t help but think of a story from my own middle school days.
It was about 24 years ago, and this story is a perfect illustration of how the legal climate has changed since then.
It was the spring of 1984, and I was a student at Wayne Middle School -- home of the Warriors back then, even though every other school in the town of Wayne went with the nickname Pioneers.
Anyway, I remember hearing about this incident that occurred during our intramural session one afternoon. Intramurals, I think, is a Latin word for “way to kill time before school is dismissed.”
Students signed up for a variety of intramural activities … anything from nature hiking to basketball to leaf collecting. It was a way to get students out of the class and exercising for a few minutes.
This particular incident took place during a game of volleyball. The student, a seventh-grader, was injured when she went to hit the ball. The ball must’ve come down just right on her hand, and it broke her middle finger.
In pain, the girl went to her teacher, Miss Davis, to tell her she thought she had broken her finger, which already was swelling and turning purple.
Much like the allegations against the principal in the Putnam lawsuit, Miss Davis refused to let the girl go the principal’s office or seek further medical attention.
Later that afternoon after the girl rode the school bus home, she showed her mother the finger, which now was even more swollen and purple. They rushed to the emergency room, where they spent most of the evening.
Now, the girl’s parents obviously were upset about what had happened. They couldn’t understand why Miss Davis hadn’t let the girl go to the principal’s office, call them or get medical attention.
They thought about calling the school and telling the principal what they thought of how Miss Davis handled the situation. But they didn’t even do that, let alone consider filing a lawsuit.
Let that sink in for a minute. In 1984, the parents didn’t even call the school about how the situation was handled. Today, parents sue over a similar incident. That isn’t meant to say one way was better or worse than the other. It’s just a change in our society, I think.
No lawsuit -- or thought of one -- 24 years ago. Instead, all the girl got to do was flip Miss Davis off for a few weeks while her middle finger healed in a splint.
Oh, I should tell you a few more details that make this story even more interesting. That girl who broke her finger is now my wife of almost 16 years. And Miss Davis? She’s my aunt.
Needless to say, my wife and her parents have ribbed Aunt Judy about the finger incident over the years.
And now, when Melissa flips Judy off, it’s simply in harmless fun.
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