A parent is suing a teacher and the Richmond School District on behalf of his child, claiming a science experiment at Jesse Wowk elementary wasn’t properly executed or supervised, causing injuries to the child.
Keson Mui has filed a civil claim in B.C. Supreme Court against a teacher, the school district and trustees, asking for damages for future loss of employment and future care due to the negligence of the teacher.
Mui claimed that his child, a Grade 7 student, was on a school field in November taking part in a science experiment that involved pressurizing a two-litre bottle of water with a bicycle pump. The bottle was supposed to go 50 feet in the air but, instead, the suit claims, it launched into the child’s face.
Mui claims this caused retinal damage to the child’s left eye, partial blindness, pain and discomfort and psychological harm.
Mui claims the teacher, Orson Woo, wasn’t supervising the experiment when the accident happened.
Furthermore, he claims the defendants allowed the child to do the experiment without proper instructions or training, didn’t provide adequate safety equipment, failed to have a “safe and secure platform” and a safe launch mechanism for the experiment and didn’t seek parental consent. Mui also claims the defendants didn’t seek timely medical intervention.
Mui further claims the parents weren’t informed of the “true nature of the injuries suffered.”
The claim is the teacher’s breach of the standard of care caused the injuries, and the school board is vicariously liable for the negligence of the teacher.
The teacher is no longer at Jesse Wowk elementary.
The Richmond School District hasn’t filed a response to the suit.
None of the allegations has been proven in court.
