The principal was prosecuted in the district court for work environment crimes through negligence leading to another person's death. The acquittal also rejects the plaintiffs' claims for damages.
It was in March 2022 that the boy, who was a student at the school, fell off a rocky outcrop in the schoolyard and injured himself so severely that he later died.
The verdict now establishes that the principal cannot be held responsible for deficiencies in the work environment and that she did not act negligently.
"According to our assessment, it was not clear to the principal that she was expected to map out risks related to the rocky outcrop in the systematic work environment work. It is also not proven that she was aware that children often climbed on the rocky outcrop, despite the fence, stairs, and presence of playground supervisors", says the court's chairman Åsa Toll in a press release.
According to the court, it was unclear whether it was the school or the municipality's local property management that bore the responsibility for the area with the cliff. The City of Gothenburg is now sentenced to pay 1.2 million kronor in corporate fines.
