Yan Ming, a 14-year-old boy who suffered leg paralysis after moving a desk at school, will receive only partial compensation from the educational facility, a local court ruled yesterday. Pudong Yuhua (Group) School was ordered to pay Yan's family 240,830 yuan (US$29,016), which represents 40 percent of the boy's medical costs.

The injury occurred on the morning of September 5, 2002 when Yan and some of his classmates were asked by a teacher to help move desks and chairs from a second-floor classroom to the ground floor.

Yan bumped his right leg while trying to move a 10-kilogram desk by himself and developed numbness that prevented him for standing, according to testimony.

The teacher allowed him to rest in the classroom, but his legs remained immobile even in the afternoon. The school informed the boy's parents, and he was finally sent to a hospital, the court heard. Doctors later determined that Yan had long suffered from malformed blood vessels.

Despite medical treatment, the youth has been paralyzed ever since the mishap. The Shanghai Labor Capability Appraisal Center concluded in late September that Yan had lost his ability to work. Yan's parents then filed a lawsuit in the boy’s name with the Pudong New Area People's Court, seeking 450,000 yuan in compensation. “It isn’t a student’s obligation to move desks and chairs, and it isn't part of the school's curriculum,” Yan’s father told the court. “And it didn’t send Yan to the hospital in time.”

The school argued in court that it wasn't responsible for providing compensation because of Yan's previous blood vessel irregularities. Legal experts concluded that Yan’s paralysis was caused by bleeding from a malformed vein, brought on by an outside force.

The court ruled that neither Yan nor the school was at fault because they were unaware of the boy's physical problem. But as the beneficiary of Yan's work, the school should pay part of his medical expenses, the judges concluded.

(Shanghai Daily June 1, 2005)