A schoolboy assaulted by a boy in his class and who sued the school for damages had his case dismissed in the High Court in Dundalk yesterday.
Graham Crosbie, now 22, was 15 when he was assaulted in an unprovoked attack in a classroom in the De La Salle Secondary School, Dundalk, on October 22nd, 1998.
The other schoolboy, also a minor at the time, was convicted of assault causing harm in Dundalk District Court. Hughie McMahon, for Mr Crosbie, argued that there was inadequate supervision of the students and as such the defendants were liable.
The plaintiff said that on wet days students could stay in their main classrooms instead of going outside and this was what he had done on the day in question. He said that twice he tried to enter the classroom but was stopped by the other boy and it was on the third attempt, towards the end of the nine-minute break, that he got in.
He sat at his desk when something was thrown at him. The other boy verbally abused him and Mr Crosbie told him to go away. Then the other boy struck him on the side of the face with his fist and brought his knee up to his face, hitting him in the mouth.
A bone in the top of his mouth was broken and four teeth were damaged. He was treated in the dental hospital in Dublin and the cost to date of that was €6,000 and the plaintiff was seeking €20, 000 to cover future treatment.
Dismissing the claim Mr Justice Vivian Lavan said the plaintiff had chosen not to sue the person who had caused the serious injury to him but had decided to sue the school.
Schools did have a duty of care and he accepted that supervision in the school at the time was reasonable. He said the assault was unforeseeable and the classroom ought to have been empty. What happened was unfortunate but he was dismissing the claim.