Penza, 10 February 2016. PenzaNews. The Penza region court upheld the verdict of the court of the first instance that partially satisfied the claims by the mother of a first-grader who slipped and fell on the porch of the school during a Physical Education lesson. The mother requested recompense for medical treatment of her son and compensation for moral damages.

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“It was established that on 21 January 2015, the buy slipped and fell on his back on the porch of the school during a P.E. lesson. As a result, he received a closed compression fracture of two dorsal vertebrae, which is qualified as grievous bodily harm. The boy lost consciousness as a result of the fall, and later had to undergo an in-patient treatment course while being bed-bound. Afterwards, the child was receiving outpatient treatment, and his movements were restricted – he had to eat standing up and sleep only in a particular position. Following the recommendations of his doctor, he is still wearing a spine fixator device,” Natalya Bychenkova, press secretary of the Penza region court, informed PenzaNews agency.

After the incident, the school yardman faced a criminal case under Part 2, Art. 118 of the Criminal Code, “Infliction of Grave Injury by Negligence,” as he neglected to follow his job duties in full, she clarified.

“He scrapped the porch with a scraper and covered it with sand, but did not break off the ice with an iron bar as he did not want to damage ceramic paving tiles. Later on, the criminal charges were dropped due to the amnesty on the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory,” she noted.

Natalya Bychenkova added that the representative of the educational institution disagreed with the claim, as, in their opinion, the party that needs to be accused in this case is the organization that subcontracted the school cleaning duties.

“Having listened to the both sides, the court came to a conclusion that the educational institution must be held responsible in this case: in accordance to the school statute, the institution bears responsibility for health and well-being of its students during the education process,” explained the press secretary of the regional court.

The court of the first instance decided to fine the defendant 150,000 rubles in compensation for moral damages, 4,106 rubles in recompense for medical treatment, and costs of litigation.

“The accused party disagreed with the solution and appealed it, but the appeal was dismissed. The sentence has entered into force,” Natalya Bychenkova concluded.