What started as a playground-style fight over a toy dinosaur somehow ended up before a judge — complete with allegations of a nearly severed finger and a $10,000 damages demand.
Court records reveal that a boy who was just 9 years old at the time sued a 12-year-old after a daycare dispute over a toy dinosaur allegedly turned violent in 2022 at a daycare in Grande Prairie.
The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in Alberta Court of Justice, claimed the argument escalated into a physical confrontation when both boys tried to play with the same toy. The incident was described by the judge as a “swatting match” — though in a twist, neither child could later remember what kind of dinosaur they were even fighting over.
According to the claim, the older boy allegedly swung the toy, causing what was described as a serious fracture to the younger boy’s ring finger. The suit alleged the injury was so severe that surgery was required and that the finger was nearly lost.
But there was a major problem: no medical records were submitted to prove it.
In his ruling, Judge Brian Robert Hougestol acknowledged claims that the finger was “essentially severed at the bone,” but stressed that the court was given no medical documentation to substantiate the injury or the need for surgery.
Hougestol ultimately tossed the case, bluntly noting that minor injuries are a known risk when kids are left to play.
“Reasonable people expect the possibility of children having minor disagreements and minor altercations,” he wrote, adding that such risks are part of normal daycare life — even when emotions run high.
The lawsuit also named the older boy’s parents as defendants, despite no evidence they were involved in the incident. The judge noted that the younger boy’s mother appeared angry that the parents never contacted her after the altercation, but emphasized they were under no legal obligation to do so.
The case sought $10,000 in general damages, plus additional expenses. In the end, the judge ruled that a childhood scuffle — even one involving a dinosaur — didn’t rise to the level of a courtroom battle.
The legal verdict was clear: some fights are meant to stay on the playground.
Good thing it wasn’t my kid!
Subhed should be “Rock Bottom narrowly averted by Sensible Judge”.
Find a man about 4 inches taller than the judge and 100 lbs more.
Enter the toy and the Judge nearly loses a finger in the scuffle.
What would the judge do??? jwstx
I keep documentation and substantiation on my trips to the grocery store in case I’m rammed in the pickle isle over the bargain spears!
No photos, no ER or Clinc notes or report, no case!
Some people are just plain stupid,9yrs boy didn’t file this it was the parents trying to make a buck shame on them.