€20,000 damages awarded to infant locked in school classroom

An 8 year old schoolgirl who suffered anxiety and stress after she was accidently locked in a classroom for 25 minutes has been awarded €20,000 damages in the Circuit Civil Court.

The Circuit Court was told the court that the child was aged five years old on 10 December 2013 when the incident happened at Mourne Road National School, Mourne Road, Drimnagh, Dublin and that she and other pupils were leaving the classroom for their morning break when she was asked by her teacher to leave a book in the room.

Circuit Court President Mr Justice Raymond Groarke heard that after she had done so but when she went to leave the room, she realised the door had been locked, the windows were also locked and the lights had been switched off.

The child had remained in the room for 25 minutes, had been extremely distressed and started panicking, crying and knocking on the door to be let out.

The Court were also advised that the child had been very upset after the incident and had missed several days of school. She had later developed an adjustment disorder and had needed to attend play therapy sessions.

Through her mother, the child had sued the Trustees and Board of Management of Mourne Road National School for negligence and claimed the school had failed to take reasonable care and had not exercised adequate supervision. She also claimed it had no proper system for checking the classrooms.

The Court were informed that the defendant had made a €20,000 settlement offer and that her solicitor's were recommending its acceptance to the court. Judge Groarke approved the settlement.