Bullied Pupil Sues School for Damages (1 Viewer)

[Frigid]

ohhhhh a test case for damages...

discuss...

Bullied pupil sues school for damages
By Frank Walker
April 10, 2005
The Sun-Herald

A victim of bullying at an elite Sydney school has launched a landmark civil legal action against his former school for damages and failure to protect him.

The move will thrust the spotlight onto the debate about bullying in NSW schools, say legal experts and MPs.

The victim was 16 and in year 10 at Trinity Grammar School, Summer Hill, when he was assaulted by four other boys in the boarding house. Police investigated and four year 10 boys pleaded guilty in Lidcombe Children's Court in 2001. They were given good behaviour bonds.

The Trinity case made headlines and sparked a huge community debate about the problem of bullying in schools. The victim is 20 and can't be named for legal reasons. He is suing his former school for damages and lack [breach?] of duty of care.

The victim's father said yesterday that his son had long-term effects from the bullying and wanted to see the school admit its failure to protect him.

The landmark civil case will be heard in the Supreme Court this year.

Trinity expelled all four bullies in 2001, even though the Children's Court recorded no criminal conviction against them.

The victim left the school soon after the bullying episodes.

A second victim, who was 14 and in year 9, was assaulted more than 50 times in the boarding house before he left in 2000, police said.

In 2003, the younger boy sued Trinity and the school settled out of court.

Politicians, legal and behavioural experts yesterday said the looming court case was bound to raise new issues in the debate about school bullying.

Opposition education spokeswoman Jillian Skinner said: "It is a very sad state of affairs when students and their families have to resort to the courts to try to settle problems with bullying.

"It shouldn't come to this. Schools should have plans in place to address bullying, and they need to implement them."

Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt said the safety and wellbeing of students in schools were the highest priority.

"We expect bullying matters to be resolved inside schools through the welfare and discipline policies," she said.

"Bullying in schools cannot be tolerated and students have the right to a safe and secure learning environment free of harassment and intimidation."

National Coalition Against Bullying spokesman Dr Michael Carr-Greg said: "This legal case imposes an obligation on schools to discuss the practices and processes they have in place to keep kids safe from bullying."

The director of the NSW Institute of Psychiatry, Dr Louise Newman, said the case raised the complex issue of where an individual's responsibility for their actions ended.

"Schools are responsible for providing a safe environment, but schools are limited unless families also take strategies to help prevent a child becoming a bully," she said.

Trinity's acting headmaster Peter Green said yesterday he had no comment.

 

[Newbie]

is this the anaconda guy?

i thought trinity paid him off
surely they remembered to put a clause in to prevent further action rofl

 

[neo o]

I think it's interesting that violence within schools seems to be treated on a completely different level to battery in a general sense. It's almost given a "boys will be boys" attitude.

"We expect bullying matters to be resolved inside schools through the welfare and discipline policies," she said.

Honestly, what the hell? A battery is a battery whether it occurs within or without a school.