Courts give denial after denial: caught is “one of the least dangerous activities known”. What would be really dangerous was a decision in favor of the mother — experts explain.
A mother of a student at Leonardo da Vinci school, in Braga, decided to go to court to see the famous school game, the “hunts” (or the “catching”) considered “dangerous”.
The origin of the dispute dates back to 2019, when the 10-year-old student fell during recess and broke his leg. The mother, concerned about the children’s safety, filed a lawsuit against the educational establishment and its insurance company, claiming a compensation of 60 thousand eurosaccording to .
The central argument of his lawyer, Manuel Alves Coelho, was based on the allegation that the school had not fulfilled its duty to protect students, even with two employees present at recess.
“The fact that children run around in the school environment significantly increases the risk of causing harm, which means that this type of activity, such as the game of catch, must be considered dangerous”, argues the lawyer.
Despite the mother’s insistence, the Courts have been clear in denying your request. From the first instance to the Supreme Court of Justice, the understanding has been the same: preventing children from running and playing would be more harmful than the risks of occasional falls.
The recently released Supreme Court ruling highlights that “recreational running naturally increases the risk of falls, but are much healthier than sitting and looking at your cell phonewhich causes damage to their posture, vision, psychomotor development, and, above all, loss of social contact with other children who are at recess, and with the real world that surrounds them”.
The appellant courts also highlighted the practical impossibility of guaranteeing absolute security. The judges of the Guimarães Court observed that the only way to completely prevent accidents would be if each child had a member of staff “literally glued” to them second by second.
In the Supreme Court, the assessment reinforced this line of thought. The game of tag has been described as “one of the least dangerous activities known”, located at the opposite end of high-risk situations, such as explosions, landslides or landslides. The court also highlighted the formative value of play, fundamental for the psychomotor, cognitive and social development of children, stimulating relationship, cooperation and interaction skills.
Consequences of a decision in favor of the mother
According to the school’s lawyer, José Fernandes, declaring the catch to be dangerous would require the suspension of normal playground activities, placing the responsibility for education exclusively in the hands of parents.
On the other hand, the mother’s lawyer argued that it would be enough to reinforce surveillance to minimize risks.
Civil law experts also warn of the possible legal consequences of classifying normal children’s activities as dangerous. Such a decision could lead to the creation of an additional mandatory insurance scheme, to be taken out by both schools and parents, transforming recreation into a highly regulated area.
If not archived
The case is not necessarily closed yet. The mother’s lawyer considers filing a new feature to the Supreme Court of Justice or even appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
However, the boy involved in the incident, now 17 years old, has fully recovered from the injury and has ambitions of becoming an aerospace engineer, according to Público.
