The High Court yesterday upheld a lower court’s decision to award NT$600,000 (US$19,357) in state compensation to the family of a first-grade student who was seriously injured after falling off a fifth-floor terrace at a school in New Taipei City.
In March 2020, the student reportedly climbed onto a desk placed against a parapet on a fifth-floor terrace at his school, lost his balance and fell over the edge, resulting in blunt chest injuries, a kidney contusion and multiple bone fractures.
The boy’s family later filed a suit seeking NT$1.41 million in state compensation, saying that the desk’s placement had negated the parapet’s function as a guard rail, thus constituting a design flaw that made the school legally liable for the accident.
The school said that the 1.32m parapet met the legal height requirements and that potted plants placed on the desk should have made clear that it was there for decorative purposes and not to be climbed on.
It said that based on the boy’s age at the time, he had the ability to recognize danger, and therefore bore most of the responsibility for the consequences of his dangerous actions.
In the first trial, the New Taipei City District Court ruled that although the parapet met legal standards, the placement of a 1.1m desk next to it was in contravention of regulations.
The court determined that the costs of the boy’s medical treatment and emotional distress damages totaled NT$1.2 million, which, based on the circumstances and liability, should be split 50-50 between the school and his family.
The High Court yesterday dismissed an appeal filed by the school, finding that flaws in the school’s facilities had a direct causal relationship with the boy’s injuries.
The ruling is final and cannot be appealed.
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