Thomas Brown by his Litigation Guardian Emma Brown v St Leonard's College

This matter concerned an application by Thomas Brown, by his litigation guardian Emma Brown, against St Leonard's College. The dispute arose from an incident where Thomas, a student at the college, sustained injuries during a Year 7 rugby training session. The application sought damages for negligence.

The central legal issue before the court was whether St Leonard's College owed a duty of care to Thomas Brown, and if so, whether that duty had been breached, thereby causing his injuries. The court was required to consider the scope of the duty of care owed by a school to its students, particularly in the context of supervised sporting activities, and to assess whether the college's actions or omissions fell below the standard of care expected of a reasonable school in such circumstances.

Her Honour Justice Kirton QC found that the college did owe a duty of care to Thomas Brown. Her Honour determined that the college had breached this duty by failing to adequately supervise the rugby training session. Specifically, the court found that the coach's instructions regarding tackling techniques were insufficient, and that the level of supervision was inadequate given the inherent risks associated with the sport. The court applied the principles of negligence, considering the foreseeability of harm, the likelihood of that harm occurring, and the potential seriousness of the injury. The court concluded that the college had failed to take reasonable precautions to prevent the foreseeable risk of injury to Thomas.