Two years of bullying culminated when a 12-year-old girl was pushed from behind, causing her to fall and smash her face on the pavement at a Guelph elementary school last fall.
That’s the alleged incident at the heart of a $415,000 lawsuit recently filed against the Upper Grand District School Board (UGDSB) by the guardian of a Guelph girl who attended Waverly Drive Public School.
The lawsuit alleges the school board allowed the girl to be bullied by another student for about two years, culminating in the incident described above last October.
“The incident and (the student’s) resulting injuries were caused solely by the negligence of the defendant, and its servants, agents and employees,” reads the statement of claim, alleging the board allowed “physically aggressive behaviour” at the school, failed to properly supervise or monitor students and didn’t get the injured student medical attention in a timely fashion.
None of the allegations have been tested or proven in court and no statement of defence has been filed at this time.
Efforts to reach a UGDSB spokesperson for comment weren’t immediately successful. The board has previously declined to comment on matters before the courts.
The lawsuit doesn’t provide any detail about the alleged bully, including their age, gender, grade level or whether they were in the same class as the injured student. Nor is the claimed prior bullying behaviour described.
“As a result of the incident and her subsequent injuries, (the injured student) has been forced to significantly limit her activities of daily living and her ability to carry on a normal life,” the lawsuit claims. “(The injured student) sustained serious injuries and impairments which include but are not limited to damage to her teeth and psychological complaints.”
It states the injured student has sustained a loss of enjoyment of life as she is unable to join in recreational and social activities or perform household activities to the extent she did prior to the alleged assault.
She “will require medical and rehabilitative treatment and as such, she will incur ongoing health care expenses,” the lawsuit adds, identifying ongoing therapy, rehabilitation, psychological counselling and more.
The lawsuit is asking the court to award $200,000 for general damages, $200,000 for future healthcare costs and $15,000 for transportation expenses.
