CHARLOTTESVILLE — An Eastern Hancock student’s mother said her son fell and broke his finger during the school day, but the school never notified the family or sought appropriate medical treatment.
A sixth-grader at Eastern Hancock Middle School broke his pinky around 8:40 in the morning after being accidentally knocked over by a fellow student on his way into the building, said Christina Hammons, the boy’s mother. The 12-year-old was excused from class to go to the office, where a staff member told him the finger was likely broken and gave him an ice pack before sending him back to class for the rest of the day, Hammons said.
The school didn’t call the boy’s family to notify anyone of the injury, Hammons said. At the end of the school day, the boy texted his mother a picture of his finger and asked her to take him to the emergency room. An X-ray at an urgent care facility confirmed the finger was broken, Hammons said.
In an email to the Daily Reporter, Vicki McGuire, superintendent of Eastern Hancock Schools, said the school corporation cannot give out information about minors.
“The X-ray may be accurate. I cannot dispute that,” she wrote, declining to comment further.
Hammons sent an email to the school corporation, attaching Jason’s clinic discharge papers. The family also contacted the Shirley Police Department, which sought advise from the county prosecutor.
Prosecutor Brent Eaton said his staff found the incident did not rise to the level of any criminal charges.
Karen Clark, Jason’s grandmother, said she was disappointed in the school’s handling of the incident.
“It’s a minor child that was put in their care for an entire day,” she said. “They made him sit in pain for an entire day without taking care of him.”
In a statement to the Daily Reporter, McGuire added, “Student safety is always our priority, and that will never change.”
