ER visit

I've been somewhat absent from the site lately because work and real life have been crazy. I just had an awesome weekend - a 5 day weekend, 4 days of which were spent at a friend's lake house in central Maine. Returned to work yesterday, easing myself back into reality, and then today reality kicked me in the nuts.

About 3:15 one of the girls in my office comes running over to my desk saying that somebody from my 2-year-old son's school/day care center is on hold, and that it's an emergency. I pick up the phone and learn that my son fell down on the concrete and "cracked his head open", they have called 911 and paramedics were on their way. I rushed to the school and he was covered in blood. The paramedics said it was a small but deep cut and might require some stitches, so I opted to have them transport us to the hospital. They admitted him immediately into the emergency room and he was in good spirits, telling the nurse and paramedics about his favorite characters from Thomas the Tank Engine, and all the various body parts you can store in Mr. Potatohead's butt.

After about an hour and a half in the ER, the doctor gave him two staples and determined that because he never lost consciousness or vomited that he was OK to be released. However, while we were waiting for the doctor, he told me that he didn't fall down - he was pushed by "Brandon", another pre-schooler whose young mother picks him up around the same time as I pick up Tyler. In the last couple months, I've overheard numerous conversations about altercations and Brandon seems to be the common denominator in those situations. Also, when we went back to pick up my truck, my wife got into a conversation with one of the other teachers who let it slip that Brandon acts out and is a troublemaker.

My wife believes that the school should reimburse the ER copayment and whatever we have to pay for the ambulance ride. She even got in touch with the owner of the school and expressed this thought, but the owner said that kids getting into playground fights is an "acceptable risk". I am in a risk management profession, and I would call that type of risk anything but acceptable - ESPECIALLY when considering that Brandon's documented pattern of increasingly violent behavior poses a significant risk to the other children. Personally, I believe that a toddler getting sent to the emergency room should open their eyes to this sort of risk.

Any attorneys around? Your thoughts? If I have to pay for some of the medical expenses, that's one thing. But if my son ends up with a concussion because of another such incident in the future, it's unforgivable and unacceptable.

My son after getting stapled and bandaged up like Rambo:

The shirt he was wearing today: