This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/kent/7389775.stm
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Castle boy wins brain injury case | Castle boy wins brain injury case |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| A teenager left brain damaged after being kicked on a bouncy castle has won his damages claim against the parents who hired it for their triplets' party. | A teenager left brain damaged after being kicked on a bouncy castle has won his damages claim against the parents who hired it for their triplets' party. |
| Sam Harris, now 13, of Spalding, Lincolnshire, suffered a broken skull when a 15-year-old boy kicked his head at the party in Strood, Kent, in 2005. | Sam Harris, now 13, of Spalding, Lincolnshire, suffered a broken skull when a 15-year-old boy kicked his head at the party in Strood, Kent, in 2005. |
| Mr Justice David Steel said Timothy and Catherine Perry, who hired the castle, had not provided enough supervision. | Mr Justice David Steel said Timothy and Catherine Perry, who hired the castle, had not provided enough supervision. |
| Damages, for which Mr and Mrs Perry are insured, are likely to exceed £1m. | |
| The High Court had heard Sam sustained a "very serious and traumatic brain injury" and now needed round-the-clock supervision. | |
| Asperger syndrome | Asperger syndrome |
| Sam brought the case against the Perrys through his mother Janet, of Long Lane, Gedney Hill. | Sam brought the case against the Perrys through his mother Janet, of Long Lane, Gedney Hill. |
| A claim by the couple that Sam's father David Harris was to blame for the accident, on playing fields behind their home in Jersey Road, was dismissed. | A claim by the couple that Sam's father David Harris was to blame for the accident, on playing fields behind their home in Jersey Road, was dismissed. |
| Sam was hurt when the much taller 15-year-old boy caught the left side of his head with his heel while somersaulting on the castle. | Sam was hurt when the much taller 15-year-old boy caught the left side of his head with his heel while somersaulting on the castle. |
| Counsel for Mr and Mrs Perry said Mr Harris should have ensured his son, who has Asperger syndrome, did not go anywhere near the inflatable. | Counsel for Mr and Mrs Perry said Mr Harris should have ensured his son, who has Asperger syndrome, did not go anywhere near the inflatable. |
| The judge said he found it probable that Mrs Perry did give Sam permission to use the castle but that the level of supervision was inadequate. | |
| He gave the Perrys permission to appeal because of the ruling's "potential significance" to anyone operating inflatable equipment. | |
| He added that if the appeal was not pursued, Sam should receive an interim payment of £100,000. |