Parent sues school for using flour to treat daughter's burns

A parent has sued a secondary school for failing to provide emergency treatment to her daughter.

A student at Winpride Girls Secondary School burnt the girl with hot water.

Through lawyer Adrian Kamotho, the mother says her daughter almost died from pain when Winpride isolated her for nine days.

Kamotho, in the petition filed at the High Court, said the incident happened on May 22 last year when the girl was a boarding student.

She said the school used maize flour to cover the burns instead of taking her to the hospital.

“The school negligently failed to ensure the minor was accorded emergency medical treatment. The delay in professional medical care disastrously worsened the minor’s wounds, resulting in sepsis and cellulitis which led to a near amputation of her right leg,” said Kamotho.

The mother wants the school ordered to pay damages for her daughter to undergo correctional surgery.

She said the girl is still in pain from the burns that have not healed in almost a year.

Kamotho continued: “She was assaulted by a fellow student and suffered burns on her right leg. She was in unexplainable pain. "The school resorted to crude and unorthodox treatment measures ... on the wound to allegedly heal the burns."

The lawyer said the student was recklessly handled and taken to the school dormitory where she was asked to contain her pain when she could barely manage to even walk to the washroom.

Kamotho said the school matron continuously poured maize flour on the wounds until May 28, 2021. When the girl could not bear the pain anymore she became hysterical, which attracted the attention of fellow students who pleaded with the administration to take her to a medical facility.

“After a lot of hesitation by the school administration, the school driver was instructed to rush her to Muthithi General Hospital where the medical personnel was shocked by her condition.

The hospital advised that she be taken to a different hospital because the wounds had developed infections.

The mother said while all this was happening to her daughter she was kept in the dark until May 31, 2021, when a sympathizer within the school called.

“While the student was suffering she was denied the opportunity to communicate with her parents,” Kamotho said.

The mother managed to transfer her daughter to another hospital. Kamotho said the student has been left with permanent damage and can no longer walk comfortably.