Serious Injury from Schoolyard Incident
At just 11 years old, our client sustained serious physical and psychological injuries following an incident at his public school in New South Wales. During recess, Alexander was pushed by another student and fell down a steep, three-metre embankment. The fall resulted in significant orthopaedic injuries, requiring hospitalisation, surgery, and a lengthy rehabilitation period.
Alexander was confined to a wheelchair for several weeks and later relied on crutches. In addition to his physical injuries, he experienced considerable emotional distress and mental anguish.
Legal Action: NSW Department of Education Found Negligent
Our legal team pursued a public liability claim against the NSW Department of Education, alleging negligence and a breach of duty of care. We argued that the school failed to take reasonable precautions to ensure student safety, despite prior warnings from playground safety inspectors. These inspectors had specifically recommended:
– Students should not be allowed access to the top of the embankment
– The area should have been roped off or otherwise restricted
Despite these recommendations, the school failed to act. The Department, through its legal representatives, denied liability. They claimed the school had not been negligent and further alleged that Alexander was partly responsible for the incident due to a failure to exercise reasonable care for his own safety.
Outcome: Court-Approved Settlement
Although the matter was litigated in the District Court of Sydney, it was resolved before reaching a full hearing. A confidential settlement was negotiated and approved by the court, with the judge agreeing that the outcome was in Alexander’s best interests—both financially and personally.
The compensation included:
– General damages for pain and suffering
– Future loss of earning capacity
– Past and future medical expenses
– Costs for a professional funds manager to oversee the investment of the settlement until Alexander turns 18
Key Takeaways: What This Case Demonstrates
This case highlights the importance of:
– School safety compliance and the consequences of ignoring expert advice
– The duty of care owed by schools and educational institutions to protect students from foreseeable harm
– The role of public liability law in Australia in securing justice and financial support for injured children
We acted for Isabella, a primary school student, who suffered injury at her school. Isabella and some other children came across a long metal bar in the playground and attempted to move it. In doing so Isabella suffered injury to her hand and she had to undergo surgery in hospital. Isabella’s parents instructed us and we brought a successful claim on her behalf. A lump sum settlement will be invested on Isabella’s behalf until she turns 18 years of age.
We acted for a 22 year old man who was injured at school when he was 13. He suffered a brain injury when he was hit in the head by a golf ball during the lunch break. A fellow pupil threw the golf ball. Just before the golf ball was thrown, a supervising teacher had seen the group of boys with the golf ball and asked them to put it away, rather than confiscating it. Our client brought a claim for compensation against the boy who threw the ball, under the boy’s home and contents insurance policy and against the Department of Education in relation to the conduct of the supervising teacher. Both defendants denied liability. There was a risk that the Court would not find negligence. In spite of the brain injury our client managed to complete his schooling and to complete a Bachelor of Commerce and is now doing a Master of Finance. The claim was successfully settled out of court.
We acted for a 14-year-old schoolboy for the 3rd degree burns he received to more than 75% of his body in a school accident. Our client and other students were at the school playing field for afterschool football training when the accident occurred. A teacher from the school was the coach. The teacher marked the field lines by pouring accelerant on the grass from a tin in which he had drilled a small hole in the lid and then lighting the grass with a match. Although there were a number of witnesses – it was difficult to determine exactly how our client got injured as witnesses provided different accounts of the accident. Some witnesses stated our client picked up the tin of accelerant and was pouring accelerant on the flames when the tin exploded. Others, including our client, said the explosion happened when our client kicked the tin away from approaching flames. We interviewed each of the witnesses.
The school accepted the actions of its teacher were negligent but alleged our client was also partially responsibility for the accident. We engaged an adolescent psychologist to give an opinion on the unpredictability of teenage behaviour as support that our client did not contribute to his own injuries.
A large out of court settlement was reached over 2 days of mediation. Prior to the settlement we obtained, via the Court, interim payments to allow our client to purchase a home suitable to his needs while waiting for his case to be finalised. Claims were also successfully brought for the nervous shock suffered by each of our client’s immediate family members.
