Personal injury advice from
Thompsons Solicitors
Compensation for Woman Assaulted by Pupil With Challenging Behaviour
23rd August 2010
Our expert personal injury lawyers recently recovered compensation for a woman who was assaulted at work due to insufficient provisions for supervising children with behavioural problems.
Inadequate Supervision
The claimant was employed by a school for children with learning difficulties and challenging behaviour. If one of the children required hospital treatment, staff would accompany them to provide supervision.
It was normal policy for this care to be provided on a 2 staff per child basis, however on this occasion our client was forced to work alone because of staffing issues. The pupil she was with, a 15 year old male, had a long history of aggressive and violent outbursts, with multiple reported incidents prior to our client’s personal injury. He was also known to have a tendency to play around with electrical items.
The pupil had been in hospital for several days and he became agitated quite suddenly whilst in his room. Despite our client’s experience and training, her best efforts to calm him down or distract him were unsuccessful. He violently attacked her, causing injuries to her shoulder and chest. She was unable to drive or attend work for some time because of her injuries and required help from family members during her recovery.
Personal Injury Claim Against Employer
Our client felt that her employer could have prevented the incident if the correct level of supervision was provided for the pupil. She therefore appointed our lawyers, who have a wealth of experience in workplace injury cases, to assist her in making a personal injury claim.
We alleged that two members of staff should have been present at the hospital to supervise the pupil, as was normal practice, for health and safety purposes. The client’s employer denied responsibility for the incident however and it was necessary for us to pursue the case to Court.
The Judge found that our client’s training was dependent upon her having assistance from colleagues and the methods were not suitable for a staff member acting on their own. It would also not have been possible for her to leave the room when the pupil became aggressive as her employer suggested, due to the danger of leaving him alone with the equipment that was present. He held that if there were two qualified supervisors in the room, the incident would most likely not have occurred in the way that it did.
Our client was awarded damages in respect of her personal injury and financial losses, including her loss of earnings.
Compensation Claim Advice
If you suffer an injury as the result of an assault at work or accident at work caused by the negligence of your employer, you may be entitled to make an injury claim.
At The Legal Line, our specialist lawyers can provide you with cost-free, confidential advice and assistance on your potential case. Contact us on 0800 0328511, or by completing a claim enquiry form online.
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