No ‘reasonable precautions’ could have saved 12-year-old pupil’s life, sheriff decides
THE death of a 12-year-old girl killed when a wall at her school fell on her could not have been prevented by any “reasonable precautions”, an inquiry has found.
Keane Wallis-Bennett died in a PE changing room at Liberton High School in Edinburgh on April 1, 2014.
The fatal accident inquiry at the city’s sheriff court concluded that the freestanding “modesty wall” which collapsed on her was “inherently unstable”.
And a sheriff said the instability was caused by design and construction flaws. No visual inspection could have spotted the problems.
In her findings, published yesterday, Sheriff Principal Mhairi Stephen said similar walls should be considered for demolition or strengthening.
The inquiry heard some pupils were “mucking about” in the changing room when the wall crumbled.
Sheriff Stephen said the actions of youngsters over many years would have contributed to its unsafe condition.
But she found that “no pupil should shoulder any responsibility or burden whatsoever” over what happened.
Sheriff Stephen said the immediate cause of the collapse was “the application of a lateral force”.
She added that the actions of pupils braced between the modesty wall and a shower wall at the time were probably “sufficient to cause the wall to move beyond its tipping point”.
However, she stressed that the pupils’ “innocent high-spirited behaviour” only had that effect because the wall was inherently unstable and liable to collapse.
She ruled: “The unstable nature of the wall was the real cause of the accident.
“There are no reasonable precautions I can propose whereby Keane’s death or the accident might have been avoided.”
The inquiry, held in June, heard claims by several youngsters that they alerted teachers to the “wobbly” wall. But the court also heard staff denied to police that pupils had flagged up concerns.
The school’s head teacher Stephen Kelly said the wall had been “bottom of the list” for renovations at the time.
Sheriff Stephen said the incident was horrific. She praised the “courage and maturity” of pupils who gave evidence.
She said Keane was a “much-loved daughter, sister and friend” and “clearly a popular and well-liked pupil”.
And she paid a warm tribute to Keane’s mum Abbie Wallis, 36, and dad Clark Bennett, 51, who attended the inquiry.
Sheriff Stephen said: “Keane’s devoted parents are clearly bereft. They attended the inquiry not only as a mark of their love for Keane, but also in an impressively dignified search for answers.
“I offer my sympathy to them, and to Keane’s family and friends.”