The San Miguel Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a ruling requiring the San Ramón Municipality to pay 30 million pesos to a teacher assaulted by a student in 2023. The educator suffered severe facial fractures in the attack at a municipal high school. The decision underscores the employer's failure to protect the worker's integrity.
On Friday, December 6, 2024, the San Miguel Court of Appeals unanimously confirmed the ruling issued in July by the San Miguel Labor Court. The Third Chamber, composed of ministers María Carolina Catepillán Lobos, Carlos Farías Pino, and Christian Carvajal Silva, fully upheld the conviction against the San Ramón Municipality.
The case involves mathematics teacher Miguel Niño, who was brutally assaulted on October 30, 2023, at the Liceo Centro Educacional de San Ramón. The attack happened during a meeting where Niño informed the student, initials B.A.R.B., and his guardian that the youth would repeat the grade due to poor grades and absences. The student lunged from behind at the teacher, striking him with fists and feet, causing fractures to the upper maxillary bone, hard palate, nasal bone, and septum.
A criminal complaint for frustrated homicide by negligence followed. The student was formalized, placed under national arraignment, and sentenced to two years in semi-closed detention with a social reintegration program.
In parallel, the Chilean College of Teachers, through its National Board Legal Department, sued the municipality for failing to fulfill its legal duty to protect the worker's integrity. The court accepted the claim, ordering $30,000,000 in moral damages and $1,050,000 in emerging damages, amounts now confirmed by the higher court.
This ruling highlights employer responsibilities in educational settings and the impact of school violence in Chile, where cases like this emphasize the need for enhanced safety measures for teachers.