Melbourne mum sues over son's death at school excursion

A grieving mother is suing the Victorian Government for up to $500,000 over the death of her son from a snake bite at a school excursion.

Rowville Primary School student Junpeng Tan was at the Mount Morton camp on a day trip when he was bitten by a brown snake in October 2013.

The Year One student suffered a cardiac arrest at the scene, and despite teachers administering CPR, little Junpeng later died at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

Now Junpeng’s grieving mother says the incident left her with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, and she is seeking damages for her son’s death.

Xiaoying Tan has filed civil action against the State Government in the County Court, and the company that runs the Belgrave camp.

In the writ, Ms Tan said she arrived in Melbourne from China just two months before the deadly incident, and she is suffering shock, anxiety and unresolved grief as a result of Junpeng’s death.

“Parents do not expect for their kids to attend a school excursion (and then) later receive a phone call that their child is not coming home,” Dimi Ioannou, from Maurice Blackburn lawyers, said.