Pupil killed by falling wall after ‘horseplay’
But accident could not have been avoided, sheriff rules
THE death of a schoolgirl when a wall fell on top of her was a tragic accident – with years of pupils’ ‘horseplay’ probably leading to its collapse, an inquiry has found.
A sheriff has ruled Keane WallisBennett, 12, died when the ‘unstable’ changing room wall collapsed, and the incident could not have been avoided.
The ‘popular and well-liked pupil’ suffered ‘catastrophic’ injuries at Liberton High School, in Edinburgh, on April 1, 2014.
But Sheriff Principal Mhairi Stephen, QC, has decided nothing could have been done to prevent her death.
She found the cause of the accident was the wall was ‘inherently unstable’ in design and construction, and had been cracked for a long time before the tragedy.
The 6ft 6in free-standing ‘privacy wall’ – which stood in front of showers – was 55 years old.
Keane was changing for gym at one side and two pupils had been leaning against the other side with their feet off the ground and in contact with the shower wall opposite when it toppled on her.
But Sheriff Stephen insisted this was ‘innocent high-spirited behaviour’ and no blame should be attached to the pupils putting pressure on the wall – which was cracked at its base – before it fell. Similar actions by pupils ‘over many years’ may have led to it cracking, Sheriff Stephen said, but the fault lines could not be seen by the naked eye.
Her findings were published yeswere terday following a fatal accident inquiry which concluded in June.
Keane’s parents, Abbie Wallis and Clarke Bennett, had attended the inquiry ‘not only as a mark of love, but also in an impressively dignified search for answers’, Sheriff Stephen said. But there no ‘reasonable precautions’ which might have prevented Keane’s death, the sheriff found.
She added: ‘It is probable that the activities of other pupils who were braced between the free-standing privacy wall and the shower were sufficient to cause the wall to move beyond the tipping point.
‘There was nothing extreme in the activity. It can be described as horseplay. The gap of less than a metre presented a wall-walking opportunity and challenge.
‘The actions of pupils over many years have unwittingly contributed to this inherently unstable painted monolith cracking.
‘No pupil should shoulder any responsibility or blame whatsoever in the wake of what happened.’
Sheriff Stephen decided the risk posed by the wall would not have been obvious visually and that inspection and maintenance regimes at the school were up to standard. Liberton High School opened in 1959, four years before national building regulations came into force.
Sheriff Stephen’s recommendations included suggesting warnings should be given to public and private owners of property to ‘assess’ the risk such walls pose.
Owners should then take steps to stabilise the walls affected or to ensure their ‘safe removal’.
Alistair Gaw, executive director of communities and families for City of Edinburgh Council, said: ‘The determination states that the council had taken all reasonably practicable measures to ensure that the wall was inspected and maintained.
‘Immediately after the incident the council removed similar freestanding walls in its schools and subsequently safety advice was issued by the Scottish Government advising all local authorities of the risks regarding these walls.
‘Our overriding priority is always the safety of pupils and staff and we want to ensure nothing like this tragic event ever happens again.’
‘Innocent behaviour’