School loses appeal in minor's death case, ordered to pay Sh2.1m

The Court of Appeal has upheld the decision of the trial court that found Gilgil Hills Academy liable for the death of a pupil in July 2008.

Court of Appeal judges Mohamed Warsame, Joel Ngugi, and George Vincent Odunga cemented the High Court’s award of more than Sh2 million in damages to the child’s parents.

The three judges upheld the findings that the school was negligent in the medical care provided to 13-year-old Linda Chepkorir Koech, a Class Seven boarder who died in July 2008.

They agreed with the High Court that the school breached its duty of care after the pupil complained of illness for several days but was neither properly examined nor referred to a hospital in time.

Koech died from peritonitis, a serious abdominal condition, while receiving treatment at the school dispensary. Her parents, Joseph Kiplangat Koech and Rose Koech, sued the school, accusing it of negligence and breach of duty.

The High Court had found that the school nurse administered medication — including a malaria drug — based on telephone advice from a clinical officer, without conducting any diagnostic tests or escalating the matter to the school administration or the parents as the child’s condition worsened.

On appeal, the school argued that the trial court wrongly relied on findings from an inquest, imposed a hospital-level standard of care on a school, and awarded excessive damages. It also blamed the parents for failing to disclose an alleged pre-existing ulcer condition.

However, the Court of Appeal rejected the arguments, holding that the trial judge’s decision was grounded on evidence presented in court and supported by expert testimony.

“Once parents entrust a child to a boarding school, the school assumes comprehensive responsibility for the child’s safety and welfare,” the judges said, adding that by choosing to provide on-site medical care, the school was obligated to ensure it was competently delivered.

The court upheld the finding that the nurse’s conduct fell below acceptable professional standards and that the school was vicariously liable for her actions. It also agreed with the High Court’s apportionment of liability at 70 per cent against the school and 30 per cent against the parents, citing the parents’ failure to formally disclose medical history.

On compensation, the Court of Appeal declined to interfere with the award of Sh2 million in general damages and Sh165,000 in special damages, saying the trial court had properly exercised its discretion in making the award.

The appeal was dismissed in its entirety, with no order as to costs, after the parents failed to participate in the appellate proceedings.

“The appeal has no merit, and we hereby dismiss it,” read the judgement by the judges.