An elite Melbourne private school and a travel company have been charged over the death of a student who fell ill and tragically died during a school trip.
Kilvington Grammar school student Lachlan Cook, 16, suffered diabetes complications during a trip to Vietnam in September 2019 and later died in a Melbourne hospital.
His death was found to have been preventable by a coroner in December 2023.
WorkSafe said on Wednesday it has sued the school and the travel company, World Challenge Expeditions Pty Ltd, over Lachlan’s death.
An elite Melbourne private school and a travel company have been charged over the death of student Lachlan Cook (pictured), who fell ill during a school trip
A court previously heard Lachlan was self-managing his type 1 diabetes when he fell ill and was taken to hospital 24 hours after he first showed symptoms, including vomiting and slurred speech.
He suffered a heart attack and was flown back to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne in October 2019 while his life support was switched off.
World Travel Expeditions has been sued three times for failing to ensure that persons other than employees were not exposed to health and safety risks under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The regulator alleges that the company has failed, as far as reasonably possible, to reduce the risk of illness or death to participating students, including students with diabetes.
The school also faces one charge of failing to ensure that persons other than employees were not exposed to health and safety risks, WorkSafe said.
In a statement, the regulator said: ‘WorkSafe alleges that the school has failed, so far as reasonably practicable, to reduce the risk of illness or death to pupils with diabetes on school trips.’
‘World Challenge Expeditions Pty Ltd faces three charges under the OHS Act for failing to ensure that persons other than employees were not exposed to health and safety risks.
‘WorkSafe alleges that the tour company has failed, to the extent reasonably practicable, to reduce the risk of illness or death to participating students, including students with diabetes.’
In December, Coroner Audrey Jamieson found that the alleged failures of the school and the tour company led to Lachlan’s tragic and preventable death.
The two Kilvington teachers on the trip, along with the World Challenge team leader, were not trained to support students with diabetes.
They also did not have access to Lachlan’s diabetes management and action plans.
The 16-year-old was instead expected to monitor his own blood glucose levels and manage his symptoms even as he became increasingly ill.
Fees in Kilvington (pictured) range up to $29,228 per year for Australian students and $40,640 for overseas students
“We can only hope that other schools and camp providers learn from our experiences,” Lachlan’s mother Kirsten McMahon told reporters outside the court.
The family’s lawyer, Andrew Woods, said the claim that Lachlan was able to self-manage his diabetes was “breathtakingly negligent”.
“Kilvington came dangerously close to blaming Lachlan and his family instead of their own shortcomings,” Woods said.
“Lachlan was a child and he was in the care of adults.”
The case will be heard in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on April 30.
Fees in Kilvington range up to $29,228 per year for Australian students and $40,640 for overseas students.