Mother Claims 6-Year-Old Was Hurt During Recess, But Spent Hours In Class Without Medical Attention

OXNARD (CBSLA.com) — An Oxnard mother says her 6-year-old was injured at school, but rather than receive a phone call, she claims her son spent all day in class.

Damian Barrera says fell during the first recess break at Elm Street Elementary in Oxnard.

"He told the teacher that he got hurt, that his arm hurted, and she didn't say anything. She didn't send him to the office so he stayed in class with pain," Vanessa Gonzalez, Damian's mother, said.

Instead of being taken to see the school nurse, Gonzalez says her son spent the entire day in the classroom using his non-dominant hand to do schoolwork.

"How can you not notice that my son wasn't doing his work right?" Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez says no one from the school called to tell her, so when school let out at 2 p.m., Damian did.

Gonzalez took Damian to the emergency room.

She says doctors told her that because so much time had passed too much blood collected so X-rays couldn't get a clear picture of his elbow.

"So they have to wait for a week to actually get a proper X-ray," she said.

Because doctors think his elbow might be broken, she says they put Damian's entire arm in a splint and cast.

Dr. Cesar Morales, superintendent of the Oxnard Elementary School District told CBS2 News on Thursday: "The district is investigating what happened and can't comment on specifics. Safety of students is a priority. The school Principal as well as district staff have been in contact with the student's mom."

Gonzalez says they've scheduled a meeting with her for next week.