Accidents at schools cost council £317,000

HUNDREDS of thousands of pounds have been paid out by Cardiff council for accidents and injuries at the city’s schools.

The £317,253 legal bill also includes three separate payouts for psychological injury to pupils caused by assault and what is described as “errors and omissions” and “education supervision”.

Among 11 claims from pupils and 13 from staff over the last five calendar years, the biggest single settlement was £28,350 for “psychological injury caused by education supervision to a pupil”.

The two other largest payments in cases brought by pupils were £21,104 for an ankle injury and £18,508 for a chest injury.

Other claims were made for a pupil’s arm injury in a playground, foot, finger and hand injuries and minor bruising and grazing, details listed by the council after a Freedom of Information request show.

All the payments include legal, medical and expert fees as well as damages to the claimant.

Of the 13 claims brought by education staff in Cardiff the three biggest settlements were £27,916 for a knee injury, £25,961 for a head injury and £16,873 for an arm injury.

Other cases settled included a member of staff who suffered facial injuries in a fall, back injuries and minor burns caused by tools.

Of the total bill £146,205.55 was paid for cases brought by pupils and £171,048.16 in claims from staff.

Elsewhere in South Wales, Bridgend County Borough Council paid out £2,784 when a pupil caught another pupil’s toe with a spade in land skills lesson and £17,500 when a member of staff slipped on water.

Other claims for damages from staff include injury from an electric shock, tables falling on an employee while she was stacking them and injury caused by lack of lighting in a car park.

The details show that out of the 13 Welsh councils which responded, more than £1m has been paid out in claims for accidents, injury and assault at schools and on school trips between 2011 and 2016.

Of the councils which responded, Cardiff’s bill was the largest followed by Flintshire at more than £196,000 and Newport at £179,000.

Caerphilly County Borough Council forked out least of the 13 councils with £5,250 paid out for trips and falls suffered by pupils and staff.

Vale of Glamorgan Council said it could not give details of its payouts owing to the low number of claims, which might identify claimants, but said it has paid £66,623 in settlement to staff and pupils in the last five years.