Sport in Schools: Some Legal Liability Issues

Abstract

The playing of sport in Australian schools is a tradition. It is therefore not unusual that a student might suffer a serious injury at school while participating in a sporting activity. This paper examines the origins and nature of a teacher's personal duty of care,and the education authority's non-delegable duty of care,for the physical safety of students in the context of sport in schools. Within this framework, it discusses recent cases involving injury to students while playing sport,such as Geyer v Downs, Watson v Haines, Thomas v State of South Australia, and Vandercheur v State of New South Wales.