Mum demands compensation from education centre after son returns home with broken teeth
When her son returned home from enrichment classes one day, a mother was horrified to see the eight-year-old in tears and with broken teeth.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the mother, surnamed Wu, said the incident happened during the recent school holidays, and after just the second lesson at Little Earth Education Centre.
"He was crying non-stop when the teacher brought him back… the teacher told me he had broken his front teeth at the playground," Wu said.
The 44-year-old housewife brought her son to a dental clinic, and was told that the majority of her son's permanent front teeth were broken. One of them even exposed the nerves.
Wu had to fork out around $1,000 in medical fees, and her son must now avoid certain foods so as to not put pressure on the broken teeth.
When she later approached the centre for compensation, they allegedly claimed that their insurance only covered long-term students.
"We then asked the education centre for a refund for the remaining classes, and they agreed but have yet to return us back our money," Wu said.
Her son can only undergo a dental implant surgery when he turns 21. As for now, a filling is the only option.
But the injury could have been less severe if her son had managed to receive treatment earlier, Wu said.
"After researching online, we found out that if we had taken the correct action and gone to the dentist without delay, perhaps the broken teeth could have been treated – but it was already late," Wu said.
According to Shin Min, Wu accused the teacher of sitting on the swing at the playground and using her phone during the incident, and that the centre also did not inform (the parents) immediately.
The centre, however, claimed that the accident occurred after the boy had ventured somewhere else to play without anyone knowing, and the teacher was taking care of other children. By the time they found out about his injury, it was already too late.
As for the compensation, the centre said they would refund the remaining $539 class fees, as well as pay Wu $500 for the incident.
"We are very sorry and have responded actively [to the accident]," said Little Earth Education Centre when interviewed by Shin Min.
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