A second-grade student at an elementary school in northern Israel suffered a head injury while leaving the school through its main entrance gate.
According to the claim, when the dismissal bell rang at the end of the school day, a large number of students rushed toward a single, narrow exit gate. During the commotion, another student pushed the claimant, causing her to fall against a metal safety barrier located just outside the school gate. As a result, she sustained a head injury, was hospitalized, underwent surgery, and was left with a permanent scar resulting in 10% permanent cosmetic disability.
The claimant argued that the school staff had acted negligently by failing to open an additional exit gate to ease congestion and by failing to station teachers at the exit to supervise the safe departure of students.
The Ministry of Education, on the other hand, denied liability. It argued that the accident occurred outside the school grounds and maintained that the additional gate on the premises was intended solely for vehicle access, including service vehicles, suppliers, and school staff.
After hearing the parties’ arguments and reviewing the evidence, the court found that no member of the educational staff was present at the time of the accident to supervise the orderly and safe exit of the students.
The court held that directing a large number of young students through a single narrow gate created a foreseeable risk of injury. The educational staff should have anticipated this danger and taken reasonable measures to prevent it. Since the accident was foreseeable under the circumstances, the court concluded that the school had acted negligently and held the Ministry of Education liable for the claimant’s damages.
Taking into account the severity of the injury, the Nazareth Magistrate’s Court awarded the claimant:
ILS 40,000 for pain and suffering;
ILS 108,000 for future loss of earning capacity, pension-related losses, and third-party assistance;
ILS 3,000 in legal expenses; and
Attorneys’ fees in the amount of 15% of the compensation awarded.
