A mum is considering suing Highland Council after a large stone fell from a school wall and crushed her little boy’s leg.
Five-year-old Max MacPhee has been left with potentially “life-lasting” injuries after a rock dislodged from a wall outside Ben Wyvis Primary School and fell on top of him.
Little Max, who had just finished his morning nursery session, had been climbing on the school boundary wall when the stone cap detached breaking his leg and leaving him with “extreme tissue damage”.
Last night his mum Louise thanked school staff for their help following the incident but said she was now considering legal action against the local authority on the grounds her son may suffer from his injuries for the rest of his life.
She said: “I asked his doctor if his leg will be completely fixed. He said the bone will heal up and he did say there is quite a lot of muscle damage and that it (his leg) might never be the same.
“There might always be a bit of sensitivity there and he will have to be a bit more careful than with the other leg.
“He has really coped with it all so well and is getting back to his normal wee self.”
At the time of the incident, Mrs MacPhee said that she spent about 10 seconds trying to move the rock off the leg of her screaming child.
He was soon taken to Raigmore Hospital where his broken leg was put in a plaster.
Initially, Max will spend some time in a mini wheelchair and it is thought his bone, which was badly crushed in the centre, will take up to eight weeks to mend.
The 32-year-old barmaid said her son put his hands on the school boundary wall to “bounce on it” when they were leaving after his nursery session before the stone suddenly broke off in one piece and fell on him.
She added: “The lump coming out from his leg was the size of a boulder.
“I tried to remain as calm as possible and it was only when the paramedics came in and he was wheeled away that I got a bit emotional. He lost his colour and his lips were blue and he was shaking because of the shock.”
A Highland Council spokeswoman said the Care Inspectorate and Health and Safety Executive have been informed of the incident, adding: “As a precautionary measure the council arranged for the affected part of the boundary wall to be fenced off and a contractor was engaged to survey and inspect the whole wall. Repairs have been carried out to the wall.”
The incident happened at a time when the school’s gym hall remains closed while work is carried out to replace wall panelling following concerns over it being insecure.
Dingwall and Seaforth councillor Alister MacKinnon, who lives in Conon Bridge, said he was “saddened” by the incident but is pleased to hear the boy is on the mend.
He said the school itself has been “plagued” with building issues since it opened in October 2012.
Mr MacKinnon said works orders between March 2013 and June 2016 show £119,573 has been spent on repair work at the school, not accounting for work in the gym hall or time spent by council officers at the school.
But Mr MacKinnon added: “Despite all these distractions since the school opened, the past and present headteacher and staff have always delivered a professional service and excellent quality of teaching.”
