School SNA withdraws damages case

A school special needs assistant who said she injured herself as she attempted to intervene to stop an autistic child diving off a trampoline has withdrawn her High Court action for damages.

Elaine Philips, of Collins Park, Whitehall, Dublin, sued her employer, the board of management of Scoil Chiarain, Collins Avenue East, Donnycarney, Dublin.

The school denied failing to provide her with adequate training, saying it was an unfortunate accident for which nobody was to blame.

On the second day of the hearing yesterday, Michael Byrne, for Ms Philips, told Mr Justice Michael Hanna the case was being withdrawn. The judge said Ms Phillips was a fine lady for whom he had sympathy but while there are “things the law can do to help, this is not one”.

Ms Philips claimed that on September 24, 2013, she was looking after two boys in a special therapeutic unit for the school’s special needs children and which contained a trampoline and a ball pool. One of the boys was in the ball pool while the other was on the trampoline.

One of them attempted to dive from the trampoline into the ball pool and, in an effort to restrain him, believing he might strike the head of the other child, she put out her hand. She felt a sharp pain in her neck and shoulder and later required medical treatment.

She claimed if she had been given training in manual handling, she would have known how to deal with such a situation.