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.

So, here’s an example I came across in the Daily Mirror of a story that can fit this bill. According to the report, a father is suing his son’s school after his 11 year old boy was “battered in a horrific playground brawl”, leaving him with some very nasty injures (source).

According to the source, Kaan Salvatore was attacked by another 11 year old boy after being kicked and punched to the ground, leaving him with a fractured nose, a fractured cheek bone, and one of his teeth being pushed up in to his gum! It’s a horrific story, and according to the report, four teachers were on duty at the time, and did not intervene and split up the fight until young Kaan was lying on the ground in a pool of blood. It begs the question; what on earth were the teachers thinking when they did not split the fight up as soon as it started!

Kaan’s furious father Antonio, 52, is now pursuing a claim for compensation against the school for his son’s injuries; and rightly so. Antonio has stated “this shouldn’t have been allowed to happen”, and reportedly his wife almost passed out when she saw the state of the injuries Kaan had sustained. Kaan required hospital treatment for his injuries.

The incident at Race Leys Junior School in near Bedworth has left Kaan too terrified to return since the incident last Thursday. The school has suspended the boy who attached Kaan, and has since stated  the teachers had been dealing with other pupils, calling this an “isolated incident”. Head teacher Gerry Bailey advised “We are very sorry one of our pupils suffered injuries at school and have apologised in person to his family.”

So, is there a claim here? Well, it certainly appears to be the case. The lack of supervision seems evident in the fact that no on broke up the fight until Kaan was lying severely injured on the floor after a prolonged assault. If the school is found liable for the incident, they will have to pay the compensation Kaan deserves for his injuries and the trauma of the experience.

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 claim for compensation. The damages awarded to the victim are usually placed in a court held trust fund until the victim reaches the age of 18. The trust fund has a very generous interest rate, and we hope that young Kaan get the compensation he deserves and will be able to put it towards something useful when he turns 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 your options on claiming for compensation.

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