Family of man left disabled after fall facing £260k bill as bid to sue fails
The family of a man who was left disabled after falling from a school roof have failed in their bid to sue a council over his injuries.
Thomas Buckett's relatives are facing a legal bill of up to £260,000 because a judge said Staffordshire County Council was not liable for the accident.
He was 16 at the time of the incident in May 2010 and it was initially claimed that he climbed on to the roof of Clayton Hall Business and Language College in Stoke-on-Trent to fetch a football.
However, a hearing at Stoke-on-Trent County Court later heard he and some friends had broken in to the tuck shop to steal food and drink.
Buckett, a pupil, jumped on a skylight as a dare, fell through and suffered serious head injuries after plunging 15 feet. His doctors said he was close to death afterwards and was not expected to talk or walk again but he has since made a recovery.
The now 21-year-old's family sued the county council, which owns the building, saying it had ignored the dangers highlighted by previous trespasses and should have secured the roof.
Buckett spent two weeks in a coma and doctors removed half his skull, repairing it like a jigsaw.
He was only the third patient in the country have a new procedure that put a piece of artificial skull flown from Italy into his head.
Judge Peter Main said the school had taken reasonable measures to shore up security.
He ordered the family to pay the council £150,000 in costs by May 4, with the total bill set to rise as high as £260,000 after the court makes a full assessment.
Buckett's mother Mandy, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, said: "We were disappointed with the ruling. Thomas had not been the same since. We are glad he is alive but the brain injuries were life-changing.
'There were a lot of lads there that day and it could have happened to any of them – we believed we had a case."
The county council defended its decision to pursue the family for legal costs, saying: 'This was a terrible incident that has had a profound and life-changing impact on Thomas and his family.
"We have every sympathy with them and wish Thomas well."
