Compensation for oxygen starvation: Brain damaged woman nearly drowned during swimming lesson

The High Court has ruled that a woman who suffered brain damage after nearly drowning during a school swimming lesson should receive compensation for her injuries.

The ruling marks the first time that a British local authority has been held responsible for an injury to a pupil that occurred under the supervision of a contractor.

A lifeguard and a teacher failed to notice a pupil was in trouble

Annie Woodland, 24, from Basildon in Essex, is set to receive up to £3million in compensation from Essex County Council for an incident that occurred when she was 10 years old.

In 2000, Ms Woodland was a pupil at Whitmore Primary School and was attending a swimming lesson at Gloucester Park Pool. She got into difficulty in the water, sinking to the bottom of the pool. The court heard, in a statement from former classmate Kayleigh Teeboon, that three pupils spotted Ms Woodland and dragged her to the surface, and despite the swimming teacher and lifeguard standing close by, they failed to notice that anything was wrong.

When Ms Woodland was pulled from the water, the swimming centre manager attempted to resuscitate her, but she suffered cardiac arrest and her brain was starved of oxygen, causing severe damage, which has left her needing care and assistance for the rest of her life.

Standard of care fell “far below” that expected of a teacher

Hearing the case, Mr Justice Blake ruled that lifeguard Debbie Maxwell and swimming teacher Paula Burlinson should have noticed Ms Woodland’s difficulties far sooner. He said the reaction "fell far below the standard of care reasonably to be expected of a teacher" and that the lifeguard “was not paying sufficient attention to users in the water".

Accordingly, he found both women to have acted negligently, and despite neither being directly employed by the council, Mr Justice Blake concluded Essex County Council was liable for their action.

The ruling marks the first time a local authority has been held responsible for an injury to a pupil that occurred whilst a contractor was supervising that pupil. An earlier hearing of the case saw a judge say a victory for Ms Woodland would risk a “chilling effect” on the willingness of schools to take children outside of the school premises. However in 2013, the Supreme Court overturned the earlier decision, opening the way for the High Court hearing, which saw Ms Woodland successfully assert the council’s liability. The exact amount of compensation to be awarded will be determined at a later date.

Essex County Council has declined to provide comment on the ruling, making clear it cannot “comment specifically on individual cases and it would be inappropriate to comment further”. However, Ms Woodland said:

“The money will give me security but no amount of money in the whole world can bring my brain back…the injuries affect every aspect of my life. It is like hell on earth”.

Compensation claims for brain damage resulting from oxygen starvation and decreased delivery

If you would like advice on personal injury and head and brain injury issues, you can contact our brain injury solicitors. Call us on 08456 381381 or email pi@ibblaw.co.uk