After a student was injured at a High School in Essex by falling from a climbing wall, the Health and Safety Executive has issued a fine. It was ruled that the accident happened as a result of inadequate instruction (this subject was covered in a previous blog post).
The accident happened while the pupil was attending an indoor rock climbing lesson. The lesson required students to work as a team, with one climbing the wall while the other stayed at the bottom to belay and hold onto the ropes. This was the first time that the students had attempted this exercise.
The task had not been correctly explained to the students and the instructor failed to fully explain the risks involved before the students took part. During the lesson, one student climber was told by the instructor to put his weight on to the ropes so he could rest after becoming tired. The other student belaying at the bottom of the wall wasn’t holding onto the ropes correctly and as a result, the climbing student, instead of being supported by the ropes, fell to the ground and suffered a fractured heel. Had the instructor correctly explained the task and its importance the student would not have fallen and would have been suspended by the ropes.
Schools must always ensure that appropriate training and supervision is provided, especially when having their students take part in potentially dangerous activities. If the activity requires an external instructor to provide the session then the school must make sure that the instructor is competent and that the school themselves have the knowledge to understand, identify and assess the potential risks involved in the task so as to protect the students taking part.
How Nelsons Can Help
Nelsons have experience in representing claimants with cases where schools have acted negligently in staff training where students are expected to carry out dangerous tasks. Cases we have been involved in recently included students participating in an obstacle course and putting away large trampolines. We have successfully claimed compensation for these clients.
If you have any questions in relation to the topics discussed in this article, please contact our expert Personal Injury team in Derby, Leicester and Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.