Gracefield School Limited, a private school in Oyarifa, Accra, has been sued for claimed carelessness that placed the health of a five-year-old student at danger.
The school is claimed to have served the student banku on June 24, 2021, despite the fact that he had corn or maize allergies.
As a result, the plaintiff, who is represented by Mr Charles Kofi Kwadam, is seeking GH150,000 in compensatory damages for the minor's shock, bad health, and inconvenience.
The plaintiff is also seeking punitive damages from the school for endangering the minor's life while knowing about his health condition. The plaintiff is also demanding GH1,634 in extra damages for the expense of the minor's medical care.
The youngster was registered at the School on April 23, 2021, and classes began on May 4, 2021, according to the court.
The minor's mother stated in a statement of claim that she had notified the School about his allergies.
According to the report, the mother said on the admittance form that her kid had allergic rhinitis, corn or maize allergies, and peanut allergies.
"As a result, prior to June 24, 2021, the defendant had provided the plaintiff with other food whenever the banku was served to other pupils for lunch."
"Instead of supplying the plaintiff with an alternate dish on June 24, 2021 at lunch, the defendant supplied the plaintiff with banku, which he was allergic to since it included corn or maize," according to the statement of claim.
Because the kid was hungry by noon, the court heard that he ate roughly six morsels of the banku before the school's lunchtime attendant switched it to a dish of spaghetti for him.
The kid fell asleep after school and woke up at 7 p.m. the same day, vomiting excessively, according to the court.
"Plaintiff vomited roughly 7 times between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m.," the statement of claim stated.
He was transported to two separate hospitals and spent days there, according to the court. "He was believed to have been in a lot of bodily aches, and the vomiting had left him dehydrated and weak." He suffered emotionally and mentally once again, according to the statement of claim.
His issue was reportedly brought to the attention of the school's administrator and class instructor, who pledged that "they will not repeat that error again."
The Plaintiff, on the other hand, claimed that the School had done nothing to ameliorate his injuries or compensate him for his bodily pain, anguish, and grief.
In its statement of defense, the School refuted several of the plaintiff's claims. The defendant claimed that since the plaintiff's admission to the School, its officers had always followed the (plaintiff's) mother's directions and that the School had never failed to follow instructions pertaining to "his allergies."
"...At no point on the day in issue did any of our officers make banku accessible to the Plaintiff in place of any other meal to which the plaintiff is not allergic."
According to the defendant, on June 24, 2021, the Plaintiff took snacks to school and ate them at 10:00 a.m. before lunch was served at 11:00 a.m., indicating that he could not have been hungry at lunchtime.
The school said that the youngster was supplied with a meal during noon.