AN INJURY caused by the movement of "weighty objects", a slip on water accumulated on some steps and a trip on an uneven path are among the compensation claims at Essex schools that cost the county council £75,000 in the past three years.
A Freedom of Information Act request reveals the authority has paid out £75,717.29 for 14 claims in the past three years, although students and teachers tried to claim £861,202 for 79 incidents in the same period.
Some compensation claims took up to six years to settle, so many could still be outstanding.
Of the paid out money, a teaching assistant at the Columbus School and College in Chelmsford got £600 after a child "ran into them".
Two students in Halstead's Ramsey Academy received compensation.
One was awarded £594 after they were pushed through a window by another student, and a second was given £16,410 after they tripped on raised flooring in the toilets.
Other large payouts included a student in The Harwich School, now called Harwich and Dovercourt High School, who got £16,812 due to slipping on water on stairs, while a student in St Benedict's College in Colchester received £10,509 after tripping on an uneven path.
A member of staff at St John's Church of England School in Epping got £10,250 after sustaining an "injury due to movement of weighty objects", while a Longwood Primary School student in Harlow also got £7,148.60 after tripping on a "low bench" in the playground.
Claims that resulted in no pay out included an "injury due to slipping on wet grass whilst descending a grass verge", and a slip on a wet floor with no warning signs.
