Judge strips boy of £3,000 payout for cutting his hand on water fountain in school scuffle with little brother

Nine-year-old Lewis Pierce sued council after accident, which left a scar

He hit a water fountain while lashing out at little brother

£3,215 compensation claim overturned by Appeal Court



Judge said pay-out would mean 'the law parting with common sense'



Schools cannot be a ‘hazard-free zone’ for children, a senior judge said yesterday as she stripped a nine-year-old pupil of £3,000 in compensation.

Appeal Court judge Lady Justice Sharp said schools should be reasonably safe for pupils – who ‘are inclined to lark around’ – but could not safeguard them against freak accidents.

She was ruling in the case of a schoolboy who successfully sued his local council for £3,215 in compensation after cutting his hand in a playground scuffle.

Nine-year-old Lewis Pierce sued West Sussex County Council for damages after an accident at St Andrew's School in Nuthurst. The Court of Appeal overturned the decision

The Court of Appeal overturned the decision, saying the pay-out would mean ‘the law parting company with common sense’.

Nine-year-old Lewis Pierce sued West Sussex County Council for damages after an accident at St Andrew’s School in Nuthurst.

It arose when Lewis was sprayed with water from the fountain, which had been fitted in the playground earlier that day, by his seven-year-old brother, George.

Incensed, he lashed out but George ducked and Lewis hit the fountain instead. He cut his thumb and damaged a tendon, which had to be repaired by surgeons under general anaesthetic.

He made a full recovery from the accident in June 2010. The court heard that Lewis was ‘completely unconcerned’ by the 1in scar it left him with but his mother Annette began legal action on his behalf against the local education authority.

The schoolboy hit a fountain Lewis hit the fountain during a scuffle. He cut his thumb and damaged a tendon, which had to be repaired by surgeons under general anaesthetic. File picture

Lawyers for the family said the school had not carried out a proper risk assessment before installing the water fountain and claimed that Lewis’s injury was the result of negligence or breach of duty.

Brighton County Court agreed and awarded the schoolboy £3,215 in compensation last year.

But West Sussex took the case to the Court of Appeal and argued that the same model of water fountain had been fitted in schools throughout England and Wales without causing injury.

Iain O’Donnell, for the council, said schools might have to ban the fountains if Lewis was allowed to keep his pay-out, for fear of other potential claims.

He told the court that schools could never be completely free from hazards. ‘Any part of the premises, for example the corner of a brick wall, could be perceived as sufficiently sharp to cause a laceration if punched,’ he said.

The water fountain was ‘not unduly sharp to normal touch’ and Lewis’s injury was caused by his own ‘spontaneous and unpredictable act’, the Appeal Court heard.

Lady Justice Sharp said schools should take reasonable steps to ensure children’s safety, ‘bearing in mind that children are inclined to lark around’.

But she said they were not under a duty ‘to safeguard children in all circumstances’, adding: ‘The law would part company with common sense if that were the case.’

The Appeal Court ruled that the county council was not responsible for Lewis’s injury and warned that a ruling in his favour would have led to a legal obligation on schools to pad and protect every edge or corner on which a child could conceivably injure themselves.

West Sussex County Council hailed the Court of Appeal decision as ‘a victory for common sense’.

The legal costs of the original claim and the appeal will now have to be paid by the Pierces. The amount was not revealed.