School Bullying Victim Awarded $290,000 Compensation

In a judgement that is seen as a warning for schools in Australia to protect students from bullying, The Supreme Court has approved a $290,000 compensation payout by the Education Department to a teenage girl that suffered bullying over an 18 month period at Kerang Technical High School.

The bullying including spitting at the girl, putting chewing gum in her hair, throwing chairs at her, and emptying her locker across the floor. The girl finally left the school when a student allegedly threatened to shoot her.

The parents of the girl had frequent discussions about bullying with the school principal, teachers, and even the school chaplain. The school failed to deal with the problem and also failed to establish procedures to stop bullying and discipline guilty students.

It was claimed that the bullying left the girl a physical and emotional wreck.  The injuries claimed were psychological disturbance, panic disorder, insomnia, an eating disorder, stress-related psoriasis and suicidal thoughts.

More injury claims for children are expected from parents of Kerang Technical High School.