Another way to die in Thailand

[truk39]

My wife's 13 year-old brother was killed at school, during school hours. He and his friends were fooling around on the basketball hoop during recess after lunch. Nobody plays basketball in their small village (in Chaiyaphum province), so they were climbing on the structure, swinging and jumping off of it. This is what they've been doing for their entire lives. The bolts that hold the steel structure to the wooden base gave way and the bottom edge of the backboard struck the boy at his neck and pinned him to the ground. He bled out in minutes. Please teach your children not to climb on these basketball hoop structures (see picture for example structure) - they are not monkey bars!!

The floods over the last few years have kept the wooden base under water for long periods, so we believe the wood rotted, or the bolts rusted.

In America, the family would have an insurance claim against the school, and probably a civil suit for negligence due to the fact that their was either no supervision, or caretakers allowed the children to climb on a structure that wasn't designed for such play. Does anyone know what recourse this family might have in Thailand?

Edited November 25, 2013 by truk39

[i claudius]

RIP to the lad ,as to your other question ,very little recourse i fear.

[CharlieH]

So sad! Horrible accident and waste of a young life.

Sincere condolences on your loss.

[johnnynmonic]

Sorry for your family's loss.

Sent from my RM-914_apac_thailand_203 using Tapatalk

[Bender]

sorry, hope he will rest in peace.

2 decades ago when i was in school, a friend of mine died in the same way. He was a very good boy a true angel.

These shit really does happen, life is not a fairy tale...

[ahantu]

sry for this ..I think he will in peace

[devolad]

Truk39,

What a horrible accident - am so sorry for your wife and your extended family.

From personal experience I know it is so hard to make sense of what happened - wishing your wife and her extended family all the best.

[akirasan]

I don't know, it may be best to speak with a lawyer. I'm so sorry for your loss, my deepest condolences.

[Riley'sLife]

In Thailand Buddha is in control. It was little brother's "time". So sad for family and friends.

No recourse available at law. Fortunately Thailand is not as litigious as parts of the west.

[krisb]

Tragic tragic accident from boys being boys. Sorry for your families loss mate.

I asked my wife regards any liability. She said if the boy had the insurance that the students pay the school each year which is about 150baht, then his family will get a payout from my understanding some 30 or 40 thousand baht from the school. If he didn't then quite sadly there is no compensation/insurance payout from what I have gathered from my wife. She does not know everything although she thinks she does. I would be talking to a lawyer.

Edited December 8, 2013 by krisb

[Aussieroaming]

RIP....Every family's nightmare to lose a child

[willyumiii]

RIP to the lad ,as to your other question ,very little recourse i fear.

If the structure was oned by a non Thai, would there be recourse? Of course there would be!

But, more importantly....

I think it is a shame that it is even possible for something like this to happen and I feel deeplyf

or the family.

I also think schools need to be held accountable for the safety of students.

At my local school, things are not maintained well at all and children are permitted to do just about anything they wish.

A lot of money is spent painting and putting up pretty flags and statues of Buddha, but none on safety!

I've seen 5 & 6 year old children climbing 20 meters up a steel tower that holds 4 speakers ( that haven't been used in years).

If one was to fall they would hit hard pavement

Hazards like that should be removed and children need to be supervised.

There is no school yard supervision and children sometimes go for hours without a teacher present in the classroom as well

Another safety problem. Large buses used to transport factory workers are parked on either side of the entrance gate to the school.

This not only eliminates use of one side of the road, but it is impossible to see children on foot or bicycle ( nas well as vehicles driven by those dropping off or picking up students ) exiting the school until they are in the one lane of rather fast traffic!

The list goes on, but these examples are enough to get the point across.

It is a miracle that more fatalities and serious injuries do not occur.

You would think child safety would be a high priority.

It's not in Thailand.

In my country ( USA ) they go overboard, prohibiting children from even running on the school grounds for fear of an injury.

But to be fair, I'm sure it is to avoid law suites and not so much out of concern for child safety.

After thought: How many times have you seen a school bus in Thailand with students riding on top of the bus??? How safe is that????

Edited December 8, 2013 by willyumiii

[nisakiman]

RIP to the lad ,as to your other question ,very little recourse i fear.

If the structure was oned by a non Thai, would there be recourse? Of course there would be!

But, more importantly....

I think it is a shame that it is even possible for something like this to happen and I feel deeplyf

or the family.

I also think schools need to be held accountable for the safety of students.

At my local school, things are not maintained well at all and children are permitted to do just about anything they wish.

A lot of money is spent painting and putting up pretty flags and statues of Buddha, but none on safety!

I've seen 5 & 6 year old children climbing 20 meters up a steel tower that holds 4 speakers ( that haven't been used in years).

If one was to fall they would hit hard pavement

Hazards like that should be removed and children need to be supervised.

There is no school yard supervision and children sometimes go for hours without a teacher present in the classroom as well

Another safety problem. Large buses used to transport factory workers are parked on either side of the entrance gate to the school.

This not only eliminates use of one side of the road, but it is impossible to see children on foot or bicycle ( nas well as vehicles driven by those dropping off or picking up students ) exiting the school until they are in the one lane of rather fast traffic!

The list goes on, but these examples are enough to get the point across.

It is a miracle that more fatalities and serious injuries do not occur.

You would think child safety would be a high priority.

It's not in Thailand.

In my country ( USA ) they go overboard, prohibiting children from even running on the school grounds for fear of an injury.

But to be fair, I'm sure it is to avoid law suites and not so much out of concern for child safety.

After thought: How many times have you seen a school bus in Thailand with students riding on top of the bus??? How safe is that????images (13).jpg

This is a truly sad occurrence, a travesty that a young life should have been cut short. What a horrible accident. My deepest sympathy to his family.

However, at least kids in Thailand have the freedom to take those risks.

In the West, the compensation culture; the mania for a risk-free environment; the wrapping in cotton wool of kids of all ages has gone way too far, and will be the undoing of Western dominance in the world.

"I've seen 5 & 6 year old children climbing 20 meters up a steel tower that holds 4 speakers ( that haven't been used in years).

If one was to fall they would hit hard pavement

Hazards like that should be removed and children need to be supervised."

I disagree. Kids need to learn the meaning of risk. They need to learn to make their own judgements. If all risk is removed, they will never learn how to deal with life. I shudder to think how the next generation of British and American adults will cope. They won't have a clue. They will be a danger to themselves and to everyone around them.

Yes, by all means remove obviously hazardous items from children's environs; that's common sense, but don't try to forestall every possible danger they might encounter. They won't thank you for it, and all you will achieve is to stunt their mental growth.

When I was young, we were constantly pushing the edges of the envelope. It was normal. That's how we learned where the limits lay. And sometimes it hurt. But we grew up wiser for it.

The compensation culture, the aversion to risk and the 'precautionary principle' are the worst things to have happened in the West since the war, and they will destroy the West just as surely as the descent into hedonism destroyed the Roman Empire. Inward looking and self-absorbed is the mood in Europe and the US, and the Asians will soon walk all over them as a result.

[thehelmsman]

Of course the loss of a child's life is tragic but as the last poster said - let's not begin to implement western standards here. I can't add anything the last poster hasn't stated so well.

[manarak]

RIP to the lad ,as to your other question ,very little recourse i fear.

If the structure was oned by a non Thai, would there be recourse? Of course there would be!

But, more importantly....

I think it is a shame that it is even possible for something like this to happen and I feel deeplyf

or the family.

I also think schools need to be held accountable for the safety of students.

At my local school, things are not maintained well at all and children are permitted to do just about anything they wish.

A lot of money is spent painting and putting up pretty flags and statues of Buddha, but none on safety!

I've seen 5 & 6 year old children climbing 20 meters up a steel tower that holds 4 speakers ( that haven't been used in years).

If one was to fall they would hit hard pavement

Hazards like that should be removed and children need to be supervised.

There is no school yard supervision and children sometimes go for hours without a teacher present in the classroom as well

Another safety problem. Large buses used to transport factory workers are parked on either side of the entrance gate to the school.

This not only eliminates use of one side of the road, but it is impossible to see children on foot or bicycle ( nas well as vehicles driven by those dropping off or picking up students ) exiting the school until they are in the one lane of rather fast traffic!

The list goes on, but these examples are enough to get the point across.

It is a miracle that more fatalities and serious injuries do not occur.

You would think child safety would be a high priority.

It's not in Thailand.

In my country ( USA ) they go overboard, prohibiting children from even running on the school grounds for fear of an injury.

But to be fair, I'm sure it is to avoid law suites and not so much out of concern for child safety.

After thought: How many times have you seen a school bus in Thailand with students riding on top of the bus??? How safe is that????images (13).jpg

This is a truly sad occurrence, a travesty that a young life should have been cut short. What a horrible accident. My deepest sympathy to his family.

However, at least kids in Thailand have the freedom to take those risks.

In the West, the compensation culture; the mania for a risk-free environment; the wrapping in cotton wool of kids of all ages has gone way too far, and will be the undoing of Western dominance in the world.

"I've seen 5 & 6 year old children climbing 20 meters up a steel tower that holds 4 speakers ( that haven't been used in years).

If one was to fall they would hit hard pavement

Hazards like that should be removed and children need to be supervised."

I disagree. Kids need to learn the meaning of risk. They need to learn to make their own judgements. If all risk is removed, they will never learn how to deal with life. I shudder to think how the next generation of British and American adults will cope. They won't have a clue. They will be a danger to themselves and to everyone around them.

Yes, by all means remove obviously hazardous items from children's environs; that's common sense, but don't try to forestall every possible danger they might encounter. They won't thank you for it, and all you will achieve is to stunt their mental growth.

When I was young, we were constantly pushing the edges of the envelope. It was normal. That's how we learned where the limits lay. And sometimes it hurt. But we grew up wiser for it.

The compensation culture, the aversion to risk and the 'precautionary principle' are the worst things to have happened in the West since the war, and they will destroy the West just as surely as the descent into hedonism destroyed the Roman Empire. Inward looking and self-absorbed is the mood in Europe and the US, and the Asians will soon walk all over them as a result.

RIP young boy, and I feel very sad for the family.

However... I also have to agree with the above.

Freedom comes with risk.

[Chao Lao Beach]

What an incredible short thread with so many sad and good points that are purely tragic in every way all around. I have no idea on compensation, if he was a red shirt he might get 7 million baht, but looking at my class 1 car insurance policy is any indication, you are looking at 200k (Baht). Incredible.

To the OP, no words here can describe the goose bumps I felt when I read what you had to say, what a waste of a innocent kid just being a free kid. I have no idea how I would react in your situation. I can not say, "I know how you feel". I genuinely wish your family hope, how ever you look for it.

[thaibeachlovers]

RIP to the lad ,as to your other question ,very little recourse i fear.

If the structure was oned by a non Thai, would there be recourse? Of course there would be!

But, more importantly....

I think it is a shame that it is even possible for something like this to happen and I feel deeplyf

or the family.

I also think schools need to be held accountable for the safety of students.

At my local school, things are not maintained well at all and children are permitted to do just about anything they wish.

A lot of money is spent painting and putting up pretty flags and statues of Buddha, but none on safety!

I've seen 5 & 6 year old children climbing 20 meters up a steel tower that holds 4 speakers ( that haven't been used in years).

If one was to fall they would hit hard pavement

Hazards like that should be removed and children need to be supervised.

There is no school yard supervision and children sometimes go for hours without a teacher present in the classroom as well

Another safety problem. Large buses used to transport factory workers are parked on either side of the entrance gate to the school.

This not only eliminates use of one side of the road, but it is impossible to see children on foot or bicycle ( nas well as vehicles driven by those dropping off or picking up students ) exiting the school until they are in the one lane of rather fast traffic!

The list goes on, but these examples are enough to get the point across.

It is a miracle that more fatalities and serious injuries do not occur.

You would think child safety would be a high priority.

It's not in Thailand.

In my country ( USA ) they go overboard, prohibiting children from even running on the school grounds for fear of an injury.

But to be fair, I'm sure it is to avoid law suites and not so much out of concern for child safety.

After thought: How many times have you seen a school bus in Thailand with students riding on top of the bus??? How safe is that????images (13).jpg

This is a truly sad occurrence, a travesty that a young life should have been cut short. What a horrible accident. My deepest sympathy to his family.

However, at least kids in Thailand have the freedom to take those risks.

In the West, the compensation culture; the mania for a risk-free environment; the wrapping in cotton wool of kids of all ages has gone way too far, and will be the undoing of Western dominance in the world.

"I've seen 5 & 6 year old children climbing 20 meters up a steel tower that holds 4 speakers ( that haven't been used in years).

If one was to fall they would hit hard pavement

Hazards like that should be removed and children need to be supervised."

I disagree. Kids need to learn the meaning of risk. They need to learn to make their own judgements. If all risk is removed, they will never learn how to deal with life. I shudder to think how the next generation of British and American adults will cope. They won't have a clue. They will be a danger to themselves and to everyone around them.

Yes, by all means remove obviously hazardous items from children's environs; that's common sense, but don't try to forestall every possible danger they might encounter. They won't thank you for it, and all you will achieve is to stunt their mental growth.

When I was young, we were constantly pushing the edges of the envelope. It was normal. That's how we learned where the limits lay. And sometimes it hurt. But we grew up wiser for it.

The compensation culture, the aversion to risk and the 'precautionary principle' are the worst things to have happened in the West since the war, and they will destroy the West just as surely as the descent into hedonism destroyed the Roman Empire. Inward looking and self-absorbed is the mood in Europe and the US, and the Asians will soon walk all over them as a result.

You speak sense.

My BIL used to go sailing as a child, but will not let his own children go sailing as it is "too dangerous" .

However, the Thais go too far on occasion eg I have seen a woman carrying her new born baby in one arm while riding a m'bike one handed, on very bad roads.

They seem to lack the common sense gene sometimes.

We shouldn't expect other people to look out for everyone else, as they do in the west. Safety begins in the home, and children need to be educated by their parents not to do obviously dangerous things, but from what I have seen in Thailand, safety is a non existent priority.

Edited December 9, 2013 by thaibeachlovers

[Kilgore Trout]

RIP to the lad ,as to your other question ,very little recourse i fear.

If the structure was oned by a non Thai, would there be recourse? Of course there would be!

But, more importantly....

I think it is a shame that it is even possible for something like this to happen and I feel deeplyf

or the family.

I also think schools need to be held accountable for the safety of students.

At my local school, things are not maintained well at all and children are permitted to do just about anything they wish.

A lot of money is spent painting and putting up pretty flags and statues of Buddha, but none on safety!

I've seen 5 & 6 year old children climbing 20 meters up a steel tower that holds 4 speakers ( that haven't been used in years).

If one was to fall they would hit hard pavement

Hazards like that should be removed and children need to be supervised.

There is no school yard supervision and children sometimes go for hours without a teacher present in the classroom as well

Another safety problem. Large buses used to transport factory workers are parked on either side of the entrance gate to the school.

This not only eliminates use of one side of the road, but it is impossible to see children on foot or bicycle ( nas well as vehicles driven by those dropping off or picking up students ) exiting the school until they are in the one lane of rather fast traffic!

The list goes on, but these examples are enough to get the point across.

It is a miracle that more fatalities and serious injuries do not occur.

You would think child safety would be a high priority.

It's not in Thailand.

In my country ( USA ) they go overboard, prohibiting children from even running on the school grounds for fear of an injury.

But to be fair, I'm sure it is to avoid law suites and not so much out of concern for child safety.

After thought: How many times have you seen a school bus in Thailand with students riding on top of the bus??? How safe is that????images (13).jpg

This is a truly sad occurrence, a travesty that a young life should have been cut short. What a horrible accident. My deepest sympathy to his family.

However, at least kids in Thailand have the freedom to take those risks.

In the West, the compensation culture; the mania for a risk-free environment; the wrapping in cotton wool of kids of all ages has gone way too far, and will be the undoing of Western dominance in the world.

"I've seen 5 & 6 year old children climbing 20 meters up a steel tower that holds 4 speakers ( that haven't been used in years).

If one was to fall they would hit hard pavement

Hazards like that should be removed and children need to be supervised."

I disagree. Kids need to learn the meaning of risk. They need to learn to make their own judgements. If all risk is removed, they will never learn how to deal with life. I shudder to think how the next generation of British and American adults will cope. They won't have a clue. They will be a danger to themselves and to everyone around them.

Yes, by all means remove obviously hazardous items from children's environs; that's common sense, but don't try to forestall every possible danger they might encounter. They won't thank you for it, and all you will achieve is to stunt their mental growth.

When I was young, we were constantly pushing the edges of the envelope. It was normal. That's how we learned where the limits lay. And sometimes it hurt. But we grew up wiser for it.

The compensation culture, the aversion to risk and the 'precautionary principle' are the worst things to have happened in the West since the war, and they will destroy the West just as surely as the descent into hedonism destroyed the Roman Empire. Inward looking and self-absorbed is the mood in Europe and the US, and the Asians will soon walk all over them as a result.

Yes, that has worked very well in thailand. Because of lack of safety standards as children; Thai adults (as you said) have learned to deal with life, have a clue and do not pose a danger to themselves and everyone else around them.

The west should strive to attain such goals......

[krisb]

RIP to the lad ,as to your other question ,very little recourse i fear.

If the structure was oned by a non Thai, would there be recourse? Of course there would be!

But, more importantly....

I think it is a shame that it is even possible for something like this to happen and I feel deeplyf

or the family.

I also think schools need to be held accountable for the safety of students.

At my local school, things are not maintained well at all and children are permitted to do just about anything they wish.

A lot of money is spent painting and putting up pretty flags and statues of Buddha, but none on safety!

I've seen 5 & 6 year old children climbing 20 meters up a steel tower that holds 4 speakers ( that haven't been used in years).

If one was to fall they would hit hard pavement

Hazards like that should be removed and children need to be supervised.

There is no school yard supervision and children sometimes go for hours without a teacher present in the classroom as well

Another safety problem. Large buses used to transport factory workers are parked on either side of the entrance gate to the school.

This not only eliminates use of one side of the road, but it is impossible to see children on foot or bicycle ( nas well as vehicles driven by those dropping off or picking up students ) exiting the school until they are in the one lane of rather fast traffic!

The list goes on, but these examples are enough to get the point across.

It is a miracle that more fatalities and serious injuries do not occur.

You would think child safety would be a high priority.

It's not in Thailand.

In my country ( USA ) they go overboard, prohibiting children from even running on the school grounds for fear of an injury.

But to be fair, I'm sure it is to avoid law suites and not so much out of concern for child safety.

After thought: How many times have you seen a school bus in Thailand with students riding on top of the bus??? How safe is that????images (13).jpg

This is a truly sad occurrence, a travesty that a young life should have been cut short. What a horrible accident. My deepest sympathy to his family.

However, at least kids in Thailand have the freedom to take those risks.

In the West, the compensation culture; the mania for a risk-free environment; the wrapping in cotton wool of kids of all ages has gone way too far, and will be the undoing of Western dominance in the world.

"I've seen 5 & 6 year old children climbing 20 meters up a steel tower that holds 4 speakers ( that haven't been used in years).

If one was to fall they would hit hard pavement

Hazards like that should be removed and children need to be supervised."

I disagree. Kids need to learn the meaning of risk. They need to learn to make their own judgements. If all risk is removed, they will never learn how to deal with life. I shudder to think how the next generation of British and American adults will cope. They won't have a clue. They will be a danger to themselves and to everyone around them.

Yes, by all means remove obviously hazardous items from children's environs; that's common sense, but don't try to forestall every possible danger they might encounter. They won't thank you for it, and all you will achieve is to stunt their mental growth.

When I was young, we were constantly pushing the edges of the envelope. It was normal. That's how we learned where the limits lay. And sometimes it hurt. But we grew up wiser for it.

The compensation culture, the aversion to risk and the 'precautionary principle' are the worst things to have happened in the West since the war, and they will destroy the West just as surely as the descent into hedonism destroyed the Roman Empire. Inward looking and self-absorbed is the mood in Europe and the US, and the Asians will soon walk all over them as a result.

You make some valid points, but I think your post is out of line on this particular thread.

Do you not see how?

[robblok]

what is it with the if it was farang owned... I am not saying that foreigners are come down on harder but for a parent to loose a child they really don't care if it is farang owned or not they will seek compensation if possible.

I really hope we never get those insane american lawsuit claim stuff here.

[corkythecat]

Take a look at the condition of equipment in play areas, horrifying.

Sent from my WT-PAD013 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[willyumiii]

I strongly disagree with the "freedom for a child to take unnecessary risk and kill himself so they learn the meaning of risk" hogwash!

Yes, children should not be over protected and should be allowed to sometimes take understood risks.

But to be put into an unsupervised environment with sever hazards, attractive to innocent young children is wrong!

"Thais don't play basketball and the children always climb on these" No one in their right mind could think that this was in any way a safe way for children to play.

Even if the unmaintained structure did not fail, as it did, a fall from it could cause sever injury or death.

Why is it evenon the school property if it is never used for it's intended purpose, BASKETBALL!

When I send my child to school each day I trust the school to take responsibility for my child's education and safety while my child is in their care..I repeat CARE!

When it is appropriate for my child to learn about life by taking understood risks, it should be my decision when the child is in my care and only then.

Again, the large issue here is that the facilities are not safe and not supervised.

Children will find risks to take in a safe environment.

Avoidable, unforeseen hazards due to the lack of maintenance and concern are not part of that understood risk.

Do you think this poor child knew the structure he was climbing was rotted out and could/would collapse under him?

I doubt that that was a risk he knowingly took.

When we leave our precious children in the care of the school in the morning, we should be confident that the school lives up to their responsibility to return them in one piece and alive at the end of the day.

There will always be accidents, but there are far to many avoidable accidents waiting to happen in the schools of Thailand..

[willyumiii]

As I type this, I am at my daughter's school waiting to pick her up.

I thought I would provide some photos of the hazardous equipment the students are provided to play on.

so, I ust took some photos of the playground equipment here at the school.

This is the same playground equipment my wife played on over 30 years ago and it shows no sign of maintenance since that era!

The first is what I call a "Jungle Gym" structure for climbing.

There are many broken pipes with jagged rusty edges.

Next, two photos of the slide provided. The second photo shows exposed sharp edges and broken pipe framework. Again, with jagged, rusty ends protruding.

I think that all the photos I can load to one message, but those are pretty good examples of equipment that children as young as 4 years old are permitted to play on with no supervision.

This decomposing equipment should not even be on the school grounds!

I realize many TV members are of retirement age and raising children is way behind you now.

I am 60 and I have a 5 year old daughter.

I would like to feel confident that while in the schools care,my daughter is not exposed to avoidable hazards like these.

I believe the rotted out basketball equipment that killed that poor boy should not have been on his school grounds as well.

[Showbags]

In Thailand Buddha is in control. It was little brother's "time". So sad for family and friends.

No recourse available at law. Fortunately Thailand is not as litigious as parts of the west.

What a croc....time.....bet your arse if some proper care and attention and above all 'maintenance' took place, his 'time' would have been miraculously averted.

[slapout]

One of the most tragic accidents I have ever witnessed was a highschool boy attempting to dunk a basketball on one of the goals which are supported by a water filled base.

When the International school in Chiang Mai proclaimed they had ordered this type of sports equipment for the playgrounds, I awaited its arrival. Sure enough it was the same design as the accident that I had witnessed. I was very vocal in my disagreement to its use as designed and pointed out the base needed to be secured by staks or whatever to make it kid proof. The solution adopted was to put a sign on the backboard, "no dunking".

These were farang adminstrators who were taking orders from Thai owners. The same ones informed me that Buses were more safe than the rail system when traveling from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, when I refused to allow my daughter to ride a bus for a school activity. Thailand can be one of the most frustrating countries to live in, but you just have to stick to what you know as right and wrong.

[Aussieroaming]

I agree with others...there is no excuse to expose people (adults or children) to un-necessary hazards and expect them to learn to survive through natural attrition.

People have car accidents so seatbelts, airbags and ABS brakes were invented to reduce risk of accident.

A kid should be able to make a poor choice in a playground without risk of dying due to lack of maintenance or poor installation.

We have a role to teach kids right from wrong. Institutions have a fundamental obligation to provide a safe environment to work or play in.

Teachers are employed to teach and supervise children. Teaching a child isn't just about reading, writing and arithmetic, there is a duty of care to supervise and advise children under care about potential hazards and risks. This family has been let down my the institute that accepted that child and then neglected to provide a safe environment.

[truk39]

Thanks to all for the kind words, thoughts, and prayers!

Tragic tragic accident from boys being boys. Sorry for your families loss mate.

I asked my wife regards any liability. She said if the boy had the insurance that the students pay the school each year which is about 150baht, then his family will get a payout from my understanding some 30 or 40 thousand baht from the school. If he didn't then quite sadly there is no compensation/insurance payout from what I have gathered from my wife. She does not know everything although she thinks she does. I would be talking to a lawyer.

I did learn that the family had been paying for the best insurance policy, so they will receive about 70k baht. Additionally, the school has agreed to "give" them 50k baht. I put "give" in quotes, because my cynical-american, overly-litigious mind sees this as a payoff to avoid lawsuit, and I wonder if there is a release of liability that the parents must sign to get this money. (I do not know, but just feels that way)

[truk39]

I strongly disagree with the "freedom for a child to take unnecessary risk and kill himself so they learn the meaning of risk" hogwash!

Yes, children should not be over protected and should be allowed to sometimes take understood risks.

But to be put into an unsupervised environment with sever hazards, attractive to innocent young children is wrong!

"Thais don't play basketball and the children always climb on these" No one in their right mind could think that this was in any way a safe way for children to play.

Even if the unmaintained structure did not fail, as it did, a fall from it could cause sever injury or death.

Why is it evenon the school property if it is never used for it's intended purpose, BASKETBALL!

When I send my child to school each day I trust the school to take responsibility for my child's education and safety while my child is in their care..I repeat CARE!

When it is appropriate for my child to learn about life by taking understood risks, it should be my decision when the child is in my care and only then.

Again, the large issue here is that the facilities are not safe and not supervised.

Children will find risks to take in a safe environment.

Avoidable, unforeseen hazards due to the lack of maintenance and concern are not part of that understood risk.

Do you think this poor child knew the structure he was climbing was rotted out and could/would collapse under him?

I doubt that that was a risk he knowingly took.

When we leave our precious children in the care of the school in the morning, we should be confident that the school lives up to their responsibility to return them in one piece and alive at the end of the day.

There will always be accidents, but there are far to many avoidable accidents waiting to happen in the schools of Thailand..

This is the same feeling I have. Americans are overly-litigious, however the negligence lawsuit that would come about after an obviously un-maintained piece of playground equipment failed resulting in the death of a child would create a safer place for all children. At a minimum, the equipment should be maintained and periodically tested, and school faculty should monitor the play at recess and keep children from using equipment in a way in which it was not designed. I don't think these expectations are overreaching, unreasonable, or leading to a slippery slope which will lead to the downfall of all civilization.

Here is a photo taken of the actual scene minutes after the boy was rushed to the hospital. One can see where his neck was pinned to the ground under the metal edge of the back board. (I've seen another image where it is possible to view the structure's frame base which is supposed to have four lag bolts that go into the wood base. The are just 4 empty holes, so the bolts let loose and went flying)

[Tokay]

Sorry for your loss.

Kids learn the hard way. Not all of us make it to adults. I had a few accidents when I was young doing really stupid things, and I probably should have died once or twice, but I didn't. Luck of the draw.