Rank: Super forum user 
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This is one for the legal eagles:
Everybody knows about vicarious liability: an employer is legally (In civil law) strictly liable for the tortuous acts of their employees in the course of their duties.
As I am now working in the educational sector (heaven help me) is there similar legal precedent in relation to students and their institutions?
For example a student decides that it would be cool to roller skate around the canteen rather than walk like everybody else. If they were to collide with somebody and it was established that the injury was worse because they were roller skating not walking would the college be liable? Should the college have taken the petty minded (but justified) approach and banned all such fun activities? Is it assumed that the college has any sort of control over its students (rather like a farmer is assumed to have control over their cattle or an owner over their dog) or is it rather like cats which are assumed to be totally autonomous and beyond any legal control?
I leave this to my learned colleagues to comment on.
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Rank: Super forum user
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A Kurziel
In terms of legal liability, it is wisest to consider severe injuries rather than incidental ones in such a case.
The difficulty here lies in the possibility that a student with a disability may be coping well until he or she is bowled over by someone much heavier than him or her and has panic attacks repeatedly in comparable situations far outwit the college. In such circumstances, a smart barrister may well impute the original causation to the behaviour of the roller skater whom you, as the safety-'competent' person have authorised to 'mow him or her down'.
Take care.The reason I utter such caution lies in how difficult it can be for anyone to control the impact of post-traumatic stress disorders..... I have personally observed an incidence in which a CEO was terrified by allegations against him which were in all probability based on normal banter yet which generated months of litigation until the claimant received a year's salary as a settlement.
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Rank: Forum user
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Students are, in effect, members of the public (no real master servant / reward arrangement), so it's an interpretative area. Section 7 doesn't really apply to them, but they are covered under the College's S3 duties, but S.4 is perhaps more aplicable.
How foreseeable is rollerskating? how would that relate to your work activities? If they were seen, it would be reasonable to expect them to be told to stop, so within your control, but perhaps not forseeable.
I have a guide on this are I provide to all our accademic staff (and a more involved one for senior managers) - drop me a PM and I can send you a copy
Al
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