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ARTICLE · 28 MARCH 2012

District Court finds non-delegable duty of school during skiing excursion

Colin Biggers & Paisley
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The school was found liable for the student's injury when skiing even though he was under the care of another party.

AustraliaConsumer Protection
Alexandra Bartlett
Alexandra Bartlett

In brief - School found to be liable for injury even though student under care of another party

In Harris v Roman Catholic Church [2011] NSWDC 172 the NSW District Court applied established principles to find a school liable for an injury suffered by a student on a school skiing excursion. Although this case is not authoritative, it shows how courts may view a school's liability where a student is on a school excursion but under the care of another party.

The student's accident

James Harris attended a skiing excursion to Perisher Blue Ski Resort as a student of Penshurst Marist Brothers. James had never skied before. He participated in a beginners' ski lesson run by the resort. During the lesson James injured his back while on a beginners' slope. James claimed that he began to increase in speed and went over a mogul while trying to avoid an unmarked ditch.

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