A schoolgirl broke her arm tackling an obstacle course just days after doctors removed a full arm cast for a previously badly broken arm.
Hannah Staples’s angry parents are now suing her school for negligence after claims she was made to complete the course despite a note excusing her from physical exertion.
Hannah, 11, broke her arm in two places after falling 2ft from a ladder at Nonsuch Primary School, Stoneleigh.
Her parents, Susan and Graham Staples, both 43, claim she was told by her teacher to do the high-risk activity, despite the Sutton Council-run school knowing she had come out of a full arm cast 10 days before.
She had broken her arm in the same two places a month earlier.
They claim they explained to the school that doctors had warned her she should not do any physical activity for at least seven weeks.
They said her arm was so fragile in the week before the fall, when she first came out of her cast, she needed to have a scribe to help her do her SATs.
But Hannah, of Stoneleigh Park Road, Stoneleigh, was still allowed on to the obstacle course the following week, breaking her arm again in the same two places as she fell from a ladder going up to a walkway.
Mrs Staples said: “Hannah had already spent weeks at school in her cast.
“We had explained to teachers what doctors had said about her not risking a fall, and written a note the previous week excusing her from tennis.
“Hannah was told ‘You are going on the course,’ and while she knew she shouldn’t, she did it because she didn’t want to make a fuss.”
Mrs Staples said the obstacle course had been a special activity as part of a health week at the school, and they had not known about it to write a specific letter to excuse her from it.
It is understood Sutton Council will be fighting the claim based on the fact the school did not get written instruction from Hannah’s parents objecting to her doing all PE.
Mrs Staples said: “It is ridiculous. They clearly did not follow their duty of care. We explained to teachers verbally on a number of occasions what Hannah was allowed to do. No one explained to us written confirmation was required.”
Hannah’s parents wrote to the school on June 26 outlining their case against the council for negligence, asking the school to admit early liability, following the accident on May 20.
They are now instructing their solicitors to take legal action.
They claim the school failed in its duty of care to Hannah, now a pupil at Blenheim High School, Epsom, by exposing her to a foreseeable risk of injury.
They allege the school acted contrary to their instructions by allowing Hannah to participate in an activity that carried a risk of her falling.
They also claim the school allowed Hannah to participate in an activity wholly inappropriate for a child recovering from a broken arm, as well as failing to adequately supervise Hannah on the obstacle course.
It is understood the family are hoping to claim up to £5,000 through injury and suffering.
A council spokeswoman said: “This is an ongoing legal matter and as such we cannot comment.”
Share