Child Injured at School or Nursery in Kuwait: When Is the School Liable and How to Claim Compensation

A practical guide for parents whose child is injured at school, nursery or on the school bus in Kuwait: when a public school, private school or nursery is liable, how to prove negligence, complaints to the Ministry of Education, civil compensation claims and the criminal side.

Every morning parents hand their child over to a school or nursery, confident that someone is responsible for supervising the child until they come home. Yet accidents happen with some regularity: a child falls from playground equipment, is hurt in a physical education lesson, suffers a burn or cut in the laboratory, is left behind on the school bus, is attacked by a classmate or struck by a teacher, or suffers a minor injury that turns serious because nobody gave first aid in time or told the parents. The questions then follow: is the school legally responsible? Whom do I sue, the school, the teacher or the Ministry? And how do I prove what happened in a place I cannot enter?

This article is devoted to that specific angle: physical injury suffered by a child while in the care of a school or nursery. It does not repeat our treatment of bullying and its criminal and civil consequences, covered in Bullying in Kuwait: Criminal and Civil Liability and How to Protect Your Child, nor financial disputes with private schools over fees and withheld certificates, detailed in Private Schools in Kuwait: Enrolment Contracts, Tuition Fees and Withheld Certificates. It focuses on one question: when is the educational institution answerable for the child's safety, and how does the child obtain compensation?

We explain the legal basis of a school's liability under the Kuwaiti Civil Code, the differences between public schools, private schools and nurseries, and then the most common scenarios: the playground, the laboratory, the school bus, assault by a pupil or teacher, and failures in first aid or in notifying parents. We finish with evidence, administrative complaints, civil claims and the criminal dimension of gross negligence, followed by hypothetical cases and frequently asked questions.

The Short Answer

A school does not guarantee against every injury: the mere fact that an injury happened on school premises does not automatically make the school liable; children trip and fall in ordinary play. Liability arises where there is a proven failure in supervision, in the safety of premises and equipment, or in the response after the injury.
The duty of supervision passes to the school or nursery: for as long as the child is in its care, the institution is the party charged with supervising the child, and the duty grows stricter the younger the child.
In a public school the claim is directed at the Ministry of Education as the principal answerable for the faults of its staff committed in the course of, or by reason of, their work, together with the individual at fault where appropriate.
In a private school or nursery the owner or operator is liable both under the enrolment contract and under the rules of tort, and a clause excluding liability for gross negligence will not ordinarily be upheld.
Evidence is made in the first days: an immediate medical report, a written request to preserve CCTV footage, the names of witnesses and a copy of the school's incident report. Delay can mean the evidence is lost.
Parallel tracks: an administrative complaint to the Ministry of Education or the licensing authority, a civil claim for compensation, and a criminal complaint where the injury results from assault or gross negligence.

The Legislative Framework

Kuwait has no dedicated statute on "pupil injuries". The governing rules are drawn from several pieces of legislation that work together:

The Civil Code, issued by Decree-Law No. 67 of 1980: the principal source on liability for wrongful acts. It contains the general rules on liability for one's own acts, the liability of a person who must supervise another in need of supervision because of minority, the liability of a principal for the acts of its agents and employees, and liability for things requiring special care, as well as the rules on contractual liability, the assessment of damages and diya (blood money). We explain the elements of tort liability in Tort Liability under the Kuwaiti Civil Code.
The Child Rights Law No. 21 of 2015: affirms the child's right to protection from all forms of violence, abuse and neglect, and places protection and reporting duties on bodies that care for children, including educational institutions. See Child Rights under Kuwaiti Law.
The Penal Code No. 16 of 1960: criminalises intentional assault and injury caused by negligence or lack of precaution, and applies wherever the facts amount to an offence.
The Criminal Procedure Law No. 17 of 1960: governs complaints, investigation and civil claims brought before the criminal court.
The Juveniles Law No. 111 of 2015: governs the procedure where the aggressor is a minor pupil; see Juvenile Justice in Kuwait.
The Civil and Commercial Procedure Law No. 38 of 1980: governs civil claims, urgent proceedings, the appointment of experts and the recording of evidence.
Ministry of Education regulations and those of the authority licensing nurseries: these set building safety requirements, supervision ratios, school transport instructions, the ban on corporal punishment and procedures for dealing with injuries. Breach of these rules is significant evidence of fault before the courts.

We have deliberately not cited Civil Code article numbers, because this article is concerned with principles rather than numbering; the precise provision is identified by counsel when the statement of claim is drafted.

The Substantive Rules

1. The legal basis of a school's liability for the child's safety

Where the child is the one injured, the institution's liability usually rests on one or more of the following:

Its own fault in supervision and organisation: leaving children at break without adequate supervision, allowing dangerous play, assigning an activity requiring a specialist to a non-specialist, or neglecting maintenance.
Vicarious liability for staff: teachers, supervisors, drivers, nurses and maintenance staff act for the institution that employs them, which answers for their faults committed in the course of, or by reason of, their work.
Liability for things: play equipment, sports apparatus, laboratory materials, electric doors and the bus are all in the school's custody. Where they require special care to prevent harm, the custodian is liable for the damage they cause unless it proves an external cause. See Liability for Things under the Kuwaiti Civil Code.
A contractual duty to keep the child safe: particularly relevant to private schools and nurseries, where the enrolment contract carries an implied obligation to return the child safely, to the extent ordinary care allows.

The yardstick is the conduct of a reasonably careful educational institution in the same circumstances. The question is not whether the accident could have been prevented at any cost, but whether the school took the reasonable measures a careful school would take given the children's age, their number and the nature of the activity.

2. Supervisor liability where the child caused the harm

In general terms, the Kuwaiti Civil Code provides that a person who is bound by law or agreement to supervise someone in need of supervision because of minority answers for the harm that person causes to others by a wrongful act. It follows, as consistently applied, that while a child is at school or nursery, supervision lies with those in charge there, not with parents who are absent.

The significance of this rule is that it rests on a presumed fault in supervision. The injured party need not prove that a supervisor failed; it is enough to show that the harm was caused by a child under supervision while in the school's care. The supervisor escapes liability by proving that it discharged its duty properly, or that the harm would have occurred even had that duty been performed with due care.

For example, if a pupil pushes a classmate down the stairs at break and breaks his arm, the injured child can claim against the school as supervisor of the aggressor without having to prove a specific lapse; the school may then show that supervision was adequate and that the act was sudden and could not have been foreseen or prevented. The degree of supervision required rises as the children get younger: what is adequate for secondary pupils may be flagrant negligence in a nursery of toddlers.

3. Public school, private school and nursery

Public schools are part of the Ministry of Education and their staff are public servants. A compensation claim is therefore brought against the Ministry, represented by the Minister in his official capacity, as the principal answerable for its employees and as custodian of buildings and equipment. The individual employee may be joined where the fault was gross or intentional. A claim for damages arising from material acts, such as negligent supervision or maintenance, is distinct from a challenge to an administrative decision; each has its own route and competent court, which must be settled before filing.

Private schools rest on a contract between the parent and the owner or operator, alongside Ministry of Education licensing and oversight. The parent may base the claim on breach of the contractual duty to keep the child safe or on tort, as best serves the child's interest and in line with the courts' approach to choosing between the two. The defendant is the company or entity that owns the school, not the principal personally, unless the principal committed a personal fault.

Nurseries and kindergartens: public kindergartens belong to the Ministry of Education and are treated like public schools. Private nurseries operate under a licence from the competent government authority regulating nurseries, subject to requirements on premises, staffing numbers and qualifications. The duty of supervision here is at its highest, because a child of that age has no sense of danger at all: injuries from swallowing a small object, falling from a cot or wandering out of an open door will usually be strong evidence of inadequate supervision.

Exclusion clauses in enrolment forms: some schools and nurseries include wording such as "the school is not responsible for any injury". Under the general rules, a clause excluding liability for fraud or gross fault is not upheld, and liability for a wrongful act cannot be excluded. Such wording does not extinguish an injured child's right to compensation where negligence is proven, although a court may give it limited weight for optional activities with known risks.

4. Playground, break-time and PE injuries

These are the most frequent injuries and the most disputed, because play inherently carries some acceptable risk. The courts usually distinguish between:

An ordinary accident of play: a child trips while running on a safe playground under proper supervision and suffers a graze or minor sprain. Fault is hard to attribute to the school.
Injury caused by a defect in premises or equipment: broken or unsecured equipment, a slippery floor, a sharp metal edge, or an unanchored goal that falls on a pupil. Custodian liability applies, and the burden shifts to the school to disprove liability.
Injury caused by absent supervision or poor organisation: large numbers of pupils in the yard with a single supervisor, a dangerous exercise without progression or protection, or forcing a pupil who is injured or medically exempt to participate despite the school knowing of the condition.

A decisive point is whether the school knew of a particular health condition, such as asthma, a heart condition or an allergy, and failed to take it into account. If the parent informed the school in writing and it did nothing, that is strong evidence of fault. We therefore always advise handing medical reports to the school in writing and keeping proof of receipt.

5. Laboratory, workshop and practical activity injuries

Chemicals, heating equipment and sharp tools are by nature things requiring special care. A school is expected to provide suitable protective equipment, ensure direct supervision by a qualified person, keep hazardous materials out of pupils' reach and explain safety rules before the experiment. If a pupil is burned because the teacher left the laboratory mid-experiment, or because materials were handed out without instructions, liability will usually be clear. An older pupil who disobeyed clear, explained instructions may bear a share of the fault, which can reduce the compensation without necessarily eliminating it.

6. The school bus

School transport produces several kinds of harm: a traffic accident during the journey, injury when boarding or alighting because the driver moved off too early, a fall through a poorly secured door, or, among the most serious, a child left asleep on the bus after the trip in the heat. The transport operator must deliver the child safely, and regulatory instructions typically require a supervisor to travel with the driver and a check of the bus after every trip.

The defendant depends on who provides the transport: the Ministry for public transport, the private school, a contracted transport company, or all of them where several faults combine. In a traffic accident, compulsory motor insurance comes into play for bodily injury according to the policy terms; see Road Accidents and Compensation in Kuwait. Leaving a child on the bus is a supervisory failure attributable to the driver, the supervisor and their employer, and may amount to criminal negligence where serious harm results.

7. Assault by another pupil

Where the child is hurt by a classmate, three parties may be liable: the aggressor, represented by his guardian; the school as supervisor at the time; and, in particular circumstances, the aggressor's parent, where a failure in guidance or knowledge of the child's aggressive tendencies without intervention contributed to the harm. In practice the school is usually the most suitable defendant, since it had actual supervision and fault is presumed against it.

The school's position weakens considerably if the assault was foreseeable: earlier complaints from the parent, a history involving the aggressor, or warnings the administration ignored. Where the assault is part of a pattern of repeated bullying, read Bullying in Kuwait, which deals with that aspect in depth.

8. Assault or corporal punishment by a teacher

Corporal punishment in schools is prohibited under Ministry of Education instructions, and the Child Rights Law protects children from violence in the institutions that care for them. Where a teacher strikes a pupil and causes injury, three strands meet:

Personal criminal liability of the teacher for the assault; a "right to discipline" defence is not accepted where it exceeds what the regulations permit or causes injury.
Civil liability of the institution as principal, because the act occurred in the course of, or by reason of, the work, even if its own instructions banned corporal punishment. The ban does not remove vicarious liability, though it entitles the institution to recover from the teacher what it pays.
Disciplinary liability handled by the Ministry or the private school's management, which does not replace the other two.

The same applies to serious verbal or psychological abuse where it causes medically established harm, such as a documented psychological disorder, although proof is harder.

9. Failures in first aid or notifying parents

In many cases the fault lies not in the injury itself but in what followed. A school may not be liable for a child falling on a safe playground, but it is liable if it:

left the injured child in class without examination despite complaints of severe pain, swelling or signs of a head injury;
failed to call an ambulance or take the child to the nearest medical centre when the condition required it;
delayed notifying the parent for hours, or did not notify them at all, so that the injury was discovered only when the child came home;
gave incorrect first aid through unqualified staff, or administered medicine without parental consent despite knowing of an allergy.

The dispute then centres on the additional harm caused by the delay or mishandling, such as a fracture that worsened for lack of timely treatment or complications of an undetected concussion. Proving this usually requires medical opinion linking the delay to the complication, typically from a medical expert appointed by the court.

10. The criminal side in cases of gross negligence

Not every school injury is a crime. Criminal characterisation arises in two main situations: intentional assault by a teacher, employee or pupil; and injury or death caused by negligence, recklessness, lack of precaution or breach of regulations, such as leaving a child in a locked bus, leaving a hazardous substance within children's reach, or ignoring a known defect in a facility. The Penal Code criminalises negligent injury and negligent homicide, and the penalty varies with the gravity of the fault and its consequences, as assessed by the court in each case.

A criminal complaint helps the parent in two ways: it triggers an official investigation that gathers evidence, summons witnesses and obtains recordings with powers an individual lacks; and a final criminal conviction binds the civil judge as to the occurrence of the act and its attribution to the perpetrator. The civil claim may be joined to the criminal proceedings or brought separately, each option having its advantages depending on the case. Where the accused is a minor pupil, the procedure follows the Juveniles Law before the competent bodies.

11. Heads of compensation and the effect of the victim's fault

Compensation for a child's injury usually covers:

Financial loss: treatment, surgery, medication and physiotherapy costs, medically established future treatment costs, transport and care costs, and lost family income if a parent had to stop work to care for the child.
The bodily injury itself: the Kuwaiti Civil Code regulates diya for loss of life and for lesser injuries, assessed according to the law and its schedule, and the court may examine any further harm under the general rules. See Compensation for Bodily and Moral Harm under the Kuwaiti Civil Code.
Moral harm: physical and psychological pain, disfigurement, fear of school, and loss of the child's usual activities.
Loss of opportunity: such as falling behind academically or losing a school year because of the injury, where the opportunity was real.

Compensation may be reduced if the victim or guardian contributed to the harm or its aggravation, for example by sending a sick child to school while concealing the condition, refusing recommended treatment, or, in the case of an older pupil, deliberately breaching clear instructions. Fault is not ordinarily attributed to a young child lacking discernment in the way it is to an adult. The assessment of compensation ultimately rests with the trial court on the facts of each case, which is why we give no indicative figures here.

12. Limitation

A claim for damages for a wrongful act under the Kuwaiti Civil Code is subject to a short limitation period running from the date the injured party learns of the harm and of the person responsible, and to a longer long-stop period running from the date of the act. Contractual claims have their own rules, and pending criminal proceedings may affect the running of civil limitation. Because the calculation depends on how the claim is characterised, the dates of knowledge and the steps already taken, parents should not delay and should have their case reviewed by a lawyer as early as possible.

Principles of the Court of Cassation

The Court of Cassation has consistently held the following principles relevant to this subject, stated here in their general form:

Tort liability rests on three elements, fault, damage and causation, and the finding of fault and causation lies with the trial court provided its reasoning is sound and grounded in the record.
Supervisor liability rests on a presumed fault in the duty of supervision, rebuttable by proving that the duty was performed or that the harm would have occurred even had it been performed with due care.
A principal's liability for an agent's wrongful act arises where the act was committed in the course of, or by reason of, the agent's duties; it is a vicarious liability established for the victim's benefit, and the principal may recover from the agent what it has paid.
The liability of the custodian of a thing requiring special care rests on a presumed fault that is displaced only by proof of an external cause beyond the custodian's control.
A final criminal judgment binds the civil court as to what it necessarily decided concerning the occurrence of the act forming the common basis of both claims and its attribution to the perpetrator.
The assessment of compensation for financial and moral harm lies with the trial court, provided it identifies the heads of harm compensated, and the court may reduce compensation to the extent the victim's own fault contributed to the harm.
Expert reports, including medical reports, are items of evidence subject to the court's assessment; it may adopt them in whole or in part or set them aside for sound reasons.

Methodological note: we have deliberately not cited appeal numbers or judgment dates, because precise citation of a judgment requires reference to its full text and facts; these principles are presented in their settled general form. When a statement of claim or memorandum is prepared, counsel cites specific judgments from their official sources.

Practical Steps and Documents

Immediate steps on the day of the injury and after

Treatment first, with documentation: take the child to a hospital or health centre and ask for a medical report describing the injury, its date and its reported cause, and the expected treatment period. Keep X-rays, prescriptions and invoices.
Photographs: photograph the injury on the day and through treatment, and the scene if possible, such as the broken equipment, the floor or the door.
Request preservation of CCTV footage immediately and in writing: surveillance systems overwrite old recordings after a limited period, so the decisive footage can disappear within days. Send the school a written request to preserve footage of the specific location and time, and keep a stamped copy or an email proving it was sent. In serious cases urgent proceedings or the investigating authority can be used to secure the recording. For the regulatory background see Security Cameras Law in Kuwait.
The school's report: ask for a copy of the school's incident report, the school clinic or nurse's log, and the attendance and duty rota for that day.
Witnesses: note the names of teachers, supervisors and pupils who saw the incident, and their parents. Courts weigh children's evidence cautiously, but it can be the key to obtaining footage or calling supervisors.
Correspondence: keep all school messages and chat-group exchanges with teachers, which often contain an acknowledgment of the incident or its timing.
Criminal complaint for assault or gross negligence: filed at the competent police station and referred, according to the nature of the offence, to the competent investigating authority, with a forensic medical report requested where needed.

Administrative complaint

For a public school, a complaint usually starts with the school administration, then the educational district, and may reach the Ministry of Education's investigation and legal affairs units. For a private school, it goes to the school's management and then to the Ministry's competent private education department as the licensing and supervisory authority. For a private nursery, it goes to the government authority that licenses nurseries. An administrative complaint does not itself award compensation, but it can produce an administrative investigation or a violation against the institution that later serves as evidence, so always ask for the complaint number and its outcome.

The civil claim for compensation

The claim is brought in the child's name, represented by the natural guardian, who may also claim for harm suffered personally. Depending on the case, the defendants are the Minister of Education in his official capacity for a public school, the company or entity owning a private school or nursery, the transport company, or the teacher or employee personally for gross personal fault. The court often appoints a medical expert to determine the nature of the injury, any degree of disability and the causal link. The competent court by subject matter and value should be identified before filing.

Document checklist

Civil IDs of the child and guardian, and proof of guardianship.
Initial and follow-up medical reports, any forensic report, and X-rays.
Invoices for treatment, medication, transport and physiotherapy.
Photographs of the injury and the scene.
The enrolment contract or registration form of the private school or nursery, and any transport contract.
A copy of the written request to preserve footage, and any footage obtained.
The school incident report and clinic log.
Complaints to the Ministry of Education or licensing authority and their outcome.
The criminal complaint number and any decisions or judgments.
Proof that you had informed the school of any particular health condition, if applicable.

Hypothetical Cases

Case 1: Fall from broken equipment at a private nursery

Hypothetical facts: a young girl falls from a slide in a private nursery's play area and breaks her arm. It emerges that the slide's handrail had been loose for weeks, that a single carer was responsible for a large group of children in the yard, and that the mother was told only when she arrived to collect her daughter at the end of the day.

Legal analysis: three bases of liability combine: custody of a defective thing requiring special care, an evident failure of supervision given the children's age and number, and a delay in first aid and notification that may have added to the harm. No fault can be attributed to a child of that age. The defendant is the entity owning the nursery, and an exclusion clause in the registration form will not protect it against fault of this gravity. The sensible course is to combine a complaint to the licensing authority with a civil claim relying on the medical report, photographs of the equipment and a request for an expert.

Case 2: Pupil assaults a classmate at a public school

Hypothetical facts: an intermediate-school pupil attacks a classmate in the toilets during break, breaking his nose. Some time earlier the victim's father had lodged a written complaint that this pupil was threatening his son, and the school did nothing.

Legal analysis: the facts amount to assault by a juvenile, whose criminal procedure follows the Juveniles Law. On the civil side, the Ministry of Education can be pursued as supervisor of the aggressor at the time; fault is presumed against it, and its defence is badly undermined by the earlier complaint, which shows the assault was foreseeable and not prevented. The aggressor's parent may also be joined depending on the circumstances. The outcome of the criminal proceedings strengthens the civil claim.

Case 3: Child left on the school bus

Hypothetical facts: a kindergarten child falls asleep on the back seat of a private school's bus operated by a contracted transport company. The driver does not check the bus after dropping the children off, there is no supervisor on board that day, and the child remains inside for a long time until a worker finds him; he is taken to hospital with heat exhaustion.

Legal analysis: this is among the clearest forms of gross negligence and may attract criminal liability for the driver and whoever was responsible for supervision, in addition to the civil liability of the transport company as principal and of the private school for breaching its contractual obligation to the parent and failing to ensure its contractor followed safety instructions. The court may hold them all liable to the victim according to the faults proven, leaving them to settle contributions among themselves. Compensation covers the physical and psychological harm established by the medical reports.

Quick Comparison

Public school: defendant is the Minister of Education in his official capacity; basis is vicarious, supervisor and custodian liability; complaint via the school, the educational district and then the Ministry.
Private school: defendant is the owner or operator; basis is contract and tort; complaint to the Ministry's private education department.
Private nursery: defendant is the owner; the required level of supervision is at its highest given the children's age; complaint to the nursery licensing authority.
Ordinary play injury on safe premises under proper supervision: liability is usually weak, unless there was a later failure in first aid or notification.
Injury from defective equipment or premises: custodian liability, with the burden on the school to prove an external cause.
Assault by a pupil: presumed civil liability of the supervisor, and criminal procedure under the Juveniles Law.
Assault by a teacher: personal criminal and disciplinary liability of the teacher, and vicarious civil liability of the institution.
School bus: liability of the transport operator and whoever contracted with it; compulsory motor insurance applies in traffic accidents.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the school liable for any injury my child suffers there?

No. A school is not an absolute guarantor of safety; it must exercise reasonable care in supervision, in keeping premises and equipment safe and in responding after an injury. If it did so and the accident was an ordinary risk of play, it may not be liable.

For a public school, whom do I sue: the teacher, the principal or the Ministry?

The claim is ordinarily brought against the Ministry of Education, represented by the Minister in his official capacity, as the principal answerable for its staff and custodian of its buildings and equipment. The employee may be joined personally where the fault was gross or intentional.

I signed a form saying the nursery is not responsible for injuries. Have I lost my right?

Usually not. Under the general rules a clause excluding liability for fraud or gross fault is not upheld, and liability for a wrongful act cannot be excluded. Such a clause may carry limited weight for optional activities with known risks, but it does not shield an institution from clear negligence.

The school refuses to give me the CCTV footage. What can I do?

Ask in writing, immediately, for the footage to be preserved so that it is not overwritten, even if the school will not hand it over. It can then be secured through the investigating authority in a criminal complaint, through urgent proceedings, or by the court hearing the claim. A school's refusal to produce evidence in its possession may be weighed against it.

Can I claim compensation if the aggressor is a minor pupil?

Yes. You can claim against the school as supervisor at the time, against the pupil represented by his guardian, and in certain cases against his parent. The fact that juveniles are subject to a special criminal regime does not remove the civil right to compensation.

A teacher hit my son. Is a complaint to the school enough?

An administrative complaint matters but is not sufficient on its own if an injury resulted. Corporal punishment is prohibited and assault is an offence that can be reported to the police, followed by a compensation claim against the institution and the teacher. Document the injury with a medical report on the same day.

The school told me about my son's injury only after the school day ended. Is that a separate fault?

It can be, particularly where the injury needed urgent treatment and the delay caused additional harm. The school answers for that additional harm even if it is not liable for the original injury.

Is the transport operator liable if my son is hurt getting off the bus?

If the driver moved off before the child had fully alighted, dropped him at a dangerous spot, or no supervisor was present as instructions require, the transport operator and the school, as the case may be, are liable, and compulsory motor insurance may respond according to its terms.

Will compensation be reduced if my child disobeyed instructions?

It may be, if the pupil was old enough to understand the instructions and deliberately breached them; the court then apportions responsibility according to each party's contribution. For a young child, responsibility ordinarily lies with the supervisor, not the child.

Can I claim for psychological harm alone, without a physical injury?

Yes, if the psychological harm is established by specialist reports and linked to the conduct of the school or its staff, though proof is harder and requires documented treatment. See Compensation for Moral Damage in Kuwaiti Law.

Is a complaint to the Ministry of Education enough to obtain compensation?

No. An administrative complaint may result in an investigation, disciplinary action or a violation against the school, but it does not order payment of compensation to the parent. Compensation is obtained by settlement or civil claim, in which the complaint's findings serve as evidence.

The school offered to pay the medical costs in return for a waiver. Should I accept?

Do not sign a release or waiver before the child's final medical position is clear, as some injuries show complications later. Have any settlement wording reviewed by a lawyer before signing, especially if it includes withdrawing a criminal complaint or waiving future claims.

How long do I have to bring a claim?

A tort claim is subject to a limitation period running from knowledge of the harm and of the person responsible, with a long-stop period from the date of the incident, and criminal proceedings may affect the calculation. Because it varies from case to case, do not wait; have your case reviewed early.

Conclusion

An injury at school or nursery is not always a fault for which the institution must answer, but nor is it something to be accepted in silence. The Kuwaiti Civil Code places a real duty on whoever supervises a child, presumes fault against the supervisor in important situations, makes the principal answer for its staff, and imposes strict liability on the custodian of things requiring special care.

The difference between a successful claim and a failed one is usually made in the first days: a medical report on the day of the injury, a written request to preserve CCTV before it is overwritten, the names of witnesses and a copy of the school's report. Without them, the dispute becomes a parent's word against an institution's.

In every case the circumstances matter: the child's age, the nature of the activity, the state of the premises, and what the school did before and after the injury. This article is therefore no substitute for examining the facts and documents in detail before taking any step.

Legal Notice

This article is general legal information on Kuwaiti law and does not constitute legal advice or create any relationship between the reader and the firm. Its contents are subject to legislative amendment and to judicial application to the facts of each case.

If your child has been injured at school, at nursery or on the school bus, the team at Yumnaak Law Firm can review the facts, identify the responsible party, write to the school to preserve evidence, file complaints and criminal reports where appropriate, and bring and pursue the compensation claim. Contact us or book an appointment to review your case.