Teen injured by motorized partition at school

A young teen at an Ottawa high school was transported to a medical facility after he suffered severe injuries when he became trapped by a motorized dividing wall in the gym. Emergency personnel responded to the scene shortly after noon on March 27 where they found educators with the unconscious child, a seventh-grader, after he was pinned by the partition.

Paramedics were able to revive the unconscious 13-year-old student and rushed him to a trauma unit after his pulse was restarted and he began breathing again. However, he suffered severe chest and abdominal injuries and was listed in critical condition upon his arrival at the medical facility. His parents were notified and were reportedly at the hospital with him.

School was released for the day, and students went home after the incident. The school board contacted families of the grade 7 and 8 students to inform them that guidance counsellors would be addressing the incident the next day with those who were present when it happened. The Ottawa Catholic School Board expressed their best wishes to the student with prayers for a quick recovery, and the Ontario Ministry of Labour is now said to be investigating the accident. No further information was available as to if the partition malfunctioned, the cause of the accident or if a premises liability lawsuit would be filed against the school.

When someone is injured due to low safety standards, the victim might decide to take legal action. A personal injury lawyer could help a client who feels that lax safety measures contributed to a serious accident by investigating the circumstances leading up to the incident and looking for signs of negligence.

Source: CBC News, “Ottawa student pinned by gym partition wall seriously injured“, March 27, 2014