On occasions, incidents occur at school where a young child suffers injuries at no fault of their own. We all know what school is like – it’s a bit of a jungle on the playground – and boys will be boys, and children have their scraps and scrapes. But when does a bit of adolescent innocence turn in to a case of negligence on behalf of the school?
Well, you are probably already aware of this, but all schools have a very clear duty of care to ensure that the students are well looked after and do not come to any harm. If a child is the victim of some kind of defect in the school, perhaps a pothole in the playground or a damaged chair, then the school is obviously liable for any suffering. But what if the incident is involving another pupil; perhaps some kind of a fight or instance of bullying – is the school liable?
Well, the school has an important duty of care to ensure that they sufficiently supervise all pupils to ensure no problems occur. If the school fails to adequately supervise a class or a group of pupils, and as a result a pupil is hurt, then the school is liable to compensate the victim.
An example could be when a child is set upon in playground brawl, leaving them with some very nasty injures. Despite teachers being on duty at the time, none intervened.
So, is there a claim here? The lack of supervision seems evident in the fact that no teacher took it upon themselves to break-up the fight and that could leave the school open to being found liable for the incident.
With claims for minors (persons under the age of 18), a Litigation Friend must act on behalf of the victim through the process of the compensation claim. The damages awarded to the victim are usually placed in a court held trust fund until the victim reaches the age of 18.
Claims against schools can sometimes be difficult to pursue; for this reason, it is essential to seek advice from an expert independent injury lawyer to discuss options and guidelines on claiming for compensation.
