Melbourne school Kilvington Grammar fined $140k over death of student Lachlan Cook following Vietnam school trip
A Melbourne private school has been fined $140,000 after one of its students became fatally ill on an overseas class trip.
He had been self-managing his type-1 diabetes when he fell ill and was taken to hospital 24 hours after first showing symptoms.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Lachlan suffered a heart attack and was flown back to Melbourne, with his life support switched off in October 2019.
A coroner in 2023 found his death was preventable, with WorkSafe then issuing charges to both the school and travel company World Challenge Expeditions.
Kilvington and the travel company both pleaded guilty in the Victorian County Court to failing to ensure persons other than employees were not exposed to health and safety risks.
Judge Angela Ellis on Wednesday fined Kilvington $140,000, while World Challenge was fined $150,000.
Both the school and organisation received a conviction.
In a statement to 7NEWS.com.au, Kilvington Grammar School principal Rob French said the school accepted responsibility for its actions leading up to Lachlan’s death
The school has since brought in a number of new practices including annual staff training in dealing with various different health conditions including diabetes, French said.
“Nothing can alter the fact, however, that Lachie passed away in tragic circumstances on the Vietnam trip in 2019,” he said.
“On behalf of the school, I offer my deepest apologies to Lachie’s family and friends for their devastating loss. Our thoughts and prayers remain with them today and always.
“We will continue to honour Lachie’s memory. He was an outstanding young man who was kind, compassionate and considerate of others. He lived with courage and determination in the face of adversity, displayed genuine leadership qualities, was warm-spirited, inclusive of others and a greatly respected member of our community.”
WorkSafe executive director of health and safety Sam Jenkin said Lachlan’s death should never have happened.
“Working with children — especially children with health conditions — comes with extremely serious responsibilities,” Jenkin said.
“Frustratingly, both the school and the trip provider knew Lachlan was diabetic and yet didn’t take steps to reduce the risk of illness or death by properly supporting their staff in identifying potentially serious health complications.”
Teenager’s death was entirely preventable
A few days into the trip, Lachlan began repeatedly vomiting and having stomach pain after eating street food in Hoi An.
He was only taken to hospital 24 hours later when his vomiting wouldn’t subside and his blood glucose levels became dangerously high.
Lachlan’s condition quickly deteriorated, and he had a cardiac arrest while in intensive care.
He was flown back to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne but was declared brain-dead and his life support was turned off on October 4.
An autopsy revealed his cause of death was brain damage in the context of diabetic ketoacidosis.
Lachlan’s abdominal pain and vomiting could have been caused by food poisoning, although that could not be determined during the autopsy.
The two Kilvington teachers on the trip, along with the World Challenge leader, were not trained to support students with diabetes, Coroner Audrey Jamieson found.
They also did not have access to Lachlan’s diabetes management and action plans, and there were no co-ordinated meetings about his health condition before the trip.
The 16-year-old was instead expected to monitor his own blood glucose levels and manage his symptoms, even as he became more unwell.
“There is clear and cogent evidence that the failures and shortcomings of World Challenge Expeditions and Kilvington Grammar School contributed to (Lachlan’s) death,” Jamieson said at the time.
“(Lachlan) was generally capable of managing his diabetes adequately on his own.
“But I also find that his ability to manage his own condition declined when he became ill.”
Originally published on AAP/7NEWS
