• 1 September 2010

Schoolboy Seeks £200,000 in Childrens Compensation

by Macks Solicitors

A teenager, who suffered an eye injury at school during a science experiment that went wrong, is seeking £200,000 in compensation.

Seventeen-year-old Wayne Logie from Dysart, in Fife, claims his plan to pursue a career in professional football was ended after shards of glass from an exploding beaker in a chemistry class seriously damaged his right eye.

He was a pupil at Buckhaven High School when the accident happened on 10 February 2003. He was watching an experiment carried out by his chemistry teacher who added hydrochloric acid to zinc. This experiment is carried out in many schools with no problems but on this occasion the beaker being used exploded and glass was propelled through the air.

Even though Wayne had been wearing safety goggles at the time glass still somehow managed to penetrate his right eye. He also suffered facial abrasions, cuts to his lower eye lid and a laceration of the left cornea which had to be sutured under a general anaesthetic.

His father Andrew Logie filed a claim against Fife Council on his behalf at the Court of Session. It has been claimed that if the teacher had exercised reasonable care the beaker would not have shattered and Wayne would not have sustained any injury. It is also stated in the action that if extra safety measures had been implemented in the school it would also never have happened, if safety goggles with side protection had been issued or if the schoolboy had been told to stand behind a Perspex screen.

The teenager had been a keen footballer receiving coaching from a Scottish Football Association development officer and was progressing into becoming a professional player. He says his dreams of that becoming true are now no longer possible.

Fife Council has contested the claim stating that according to guidelines provided by the Scottish Schools Equipment Research Centre, the safety goggles worn by their students provided adequate protection and that what happened to Wayne was an unfortunate accident. The council claimed that it fulfilled all duties placed on it and maintained that the boy made a “very good recovery”.

The case was heard by Lady Paton as the council sought to prevent it being heard by a civil jury. She decided the case could go before a jury, which will happen at a later date.

A teenager, who suffered an eye injury at school during a science experiment that went wrong, is seeking £200,000 in compensation.

Seventeen-year-old Wayne Logie from Dysart, in Fife, claims his plan to pursue a career in professional football was ended after shards of glass from an exploding beaker in a chemistry class seriously damaged his right eye.

He was a pupil at Buckhaven High School when the accident happened on 10 February 2003. He was watching an experiment carried out by his chemistry teacher who added hydrochloric acid to zinc. This experiment is carried out in many schools with no problems but on this occasion the beaker being used exploded and glass was propelled through the air.

Even though Wayne had been wearing safety goggles at the time glass still somehow managed to penetrate his right eye. He also suffered facial abrasions, cuts to his lower eye lid and a laceration of the left cornea which had to be sutured under a general anaesthetic.

His father Andrew Logie filed a claim against Fife Council on his behalf at the Court of Session. It has been claimed that if the teacher had exercised reasonable care the beaker would not have shattered and Wayne would not have sustained any injury. It is also stated in the action that if extra safety measures had been implemented in the school it would also never have happened, if safety goggles with side protection had been issued or if the schoolboy had been told to stand behind a Perspex screen.

The teenager had been a keen footballer receiving coaching from a Scottish Football Association development officer and was progressing into becoming a professional player. He says his dreams of that becoming true are now no longer possible.

Fife Council has contested the claim stating that according to guidelines provided by the Scottish Schools Equipment Research Centre, the safety goggles worn by their students provided adequate protection and that what happened to Wayne was an unfortunate accident. The council claimed that it fulfilled all duties placed on it and maintained that the boy made a “very good recovery”.

The case was heard by Lady Paton as the council sought to prevent it being heard by a civil jury. She decided the case could go before a jury, which will happen at a later date.

© Copyright 2024 Macks Solicitors | SRA no. 379740