Girl to sue classmate over school injury
A 13-year-old girl from a prestigious Gold Coast private school has been served with a writ following an incident during a tennis lesson last year.
News Ltd reports the legal action was sparked by an incident that left one child with a bruised eye after being hit by a tennis ball.
The two girls attend Somerset College and are the daughters of a leading Gold Coast cardiologist and an architect, according to The Courier Mail.
Cardiologist Guy Wright-Smith said he was "gobsmacked'' to receive the damages claim, addressed to his daughter Julia, the paper has reported.
It is alleged Julia hit Finley Enright-Burns in the eye with a tennis ball and despite Finley not attending hospital her injury required medical treatment.
The claim also alleges the school be held responsible for breaching its duty of care.
According to The Courier Mail, Dr Wright-Smith believed the two girls were friends and the claim had come "out of the blue''.
"I called my lawyer immediately,'' he said.
Lawyer Bill Potts told News Ltd lawsuits of this nature could force up insurance costs.
"While the girl's injuries are regrettable, there is also a sense with claims like this that we've gone too far and are becoming a litigious-crazy society like the US,'' he said.
