By PAVEL BAILEY
Tribune Court Reporter
pbailey@tribunemedia.net
A TEACHER had his lawsuit dismissed by a Supreme Court judge yesterday after he tried to sue the Ministry of Education for injuries he received on being attacked by SC McPherson students in 2016.
Desmond Darville, while invigilating grade 9 BJC examinations on May 30, 2016, was attacked by students under a school lunch pavilion.
In addition to students hurling gay slurs at Mr Darville, the complainant said that he suffered a broken shoulder after they hit him with bottles.
Nioshi Symonette, a lunch vendor who witnessed the attack, corroborated Mr Darville’s story calling the pavilion a “hot spot” for deviant behaviour.
Ms Symonette also said she witnessed attacks on a security guard, and other students as well.
Six years after the ordeal, Mr Darville says he still experiences pain and weakness in his left shoulder and arm.
He sued the minister responsible for education and the Attorney General for negligence. The basis of this accusation is that he says they failed to ensure that security officers were stationed at the lunch pavilion.
Mr Darville said because of his injuries he no longer earns extra income by teaching evening art classes for special functions, teaching and selling pottery, creating costume designs for carnival and Junkanoo along with freelance interior decorating.
Senior Justice Indra Charles moved to dismiss Mr Darville’s legal challenge as his case was an isolated incident. She said the complainant failed to prove the attack was reasonably foreseeable, giving the fact that past attacks at the pavilion were between students.
Despite Mr Darville losing his lawsuit, Justice Charles did not order the complainant to pay costs, stating that as the complainant suffered injuries at work his claim was neither “frivolous nor vexatious”.
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