teen fight

[privacymom]

My daughter was involved in a very mutual fight. The fight was on school grounds, some kids took out their camera phones and took pictures of the fight. My daughter ended up with a broken nose. I have two questions. The policy for phones in general is you can have them on you, but you are NOT allowed to use them or bring them out during school time.
1. can I press charges
2. can I sue (and win) for compensation for her medical bills. We do have very good medical insurance that will cover the costs. Will this affect any lawsuit?
3. what are my legal options for the obvious violation of privacy with the camera phones? I do NOT want these pictures to end up on the internet. Nowadays with myspace and file sharing.. that's all she needs right now is to have these pictures floating around.
Before I get bashed here... YES she is in big time trouble with me. YES I am upset. Violence is not the answer to anything. And the fight was a very MUTUAL fight.
Thanks in advance!

 

[CdwJava]

My daughter ended up with a broken nose. I have two questions. The policy for phones in general is you can have them on you, but you are NOT allowed to use them or bring them out during school time.
1. can I press charges

You can call the police and have your daughter make a report. Whether charges will be filed by the District Attorney is questionable. A fight on school grounds will rarely result in criminal charges against one party and nopt the other unless it was clear that one party was the aggressor. Since you say that it was a "very mutual fight", chances are if there are battery charges they will be filed against BOTH girls.

2. can I sue (and win) for compensation for her medical bills. We do have very good medical insurance that will cover the costs. Will this affect any lawsuit?

You can sue the girl, but since it was a mutual fight, chances are you won't do anything but spend money on lawyers.

3. what are my legal options for the obvious violation of privacy with the camera phones?

They were fighting in a PUBLIC PLACE! Hence, there is no "privacy violation".

I do NOT want these pictures to end up on the internet. Nowadays with myspace and file sharing.. that's all she needs right now is to have these pictures floating around.

Nothing she can do to prevent it. That's what happens when you act out in public.

She needs to suck it up, learn from it, and move on.

- Carl

 

[stealth2]

The moral of the story? Don't act like a barroom brawler in public.

 

[privacymom]

Thanks for the answers. Are your answers facts? Or your opinion? This is my first time posting or viewing these types of forums, so I don't know who gets to answer or how these forums work. Thanks in advance.

 

[xylene]

Thanks for the answers. Are your answers facts? Or your opinion? This is my first time posting or viewing these types of forums, so I don't know who gets to answer or how these forums work. Thanks in advance.

Carl is a genuine L.E.O., and one of the most forthright posters on the forum.

You can trust his advice.

 

[privacymom]

thank you for the response. At the risk of sounding like a thug raising mom.... my son was involved in a fight last year. This fight was completely one sided. The boy was joining a gang, and in order to be "initiated" he had to fight somebody. He tried to pick a fight with my son. My son went into the office and told the principal he heard this boy wanted to fight him. The principal called the kid in, spoke with them both. They shook hands and all was well. Or so my son thought.
Another boy came up to him later and told him the wannabe gangster was waiting for him at the park to fight him. The park is the OPPOSITE way of our house. My son walked HOME. The boy was waiting for him on the corner of our block.
My son finally "agreed"? to fight the kid. They fought. My son beat him up. And stopped fighting and told him, "ok dude, its over, I don't want to hurt you." And tried to walk away. The kid went at him again. He did this several times. My son really beat him up. He came home crying, and told us what happened. I called the police and wanted to press charges. The police said that even though my son did everything he could to avoid the situation, he couldn't press charges because HE beat the kid up. And if anything, even though the kid eagerly pursued the fight, that HE was in a position to press charges since he's the one that was "busted up".
That's why I was asking about legal recourses, as far as my daughter's possible broken nose? By the way, the kid corroborated the story, AND told kids at school that he was going after my son with a knife next time. I just don't want you to think I live under a rock and think my kids have me fooled into thinking they are perfect. My daughter was also upfront in her involvement in her fight.

 

[Just Blue]

Carl is a genuine L.E.O., and one of the most forthright posters on the forum.

You can trust his advice.

Agreed!! Carl is a GOOD guy..and a C.L.E.O.....