Material Damages and Their Compensation

The principle concerning compensation for personal possessions of students at Turku City schools is that everyone is responsible for the damage they cause for themselves.

Getting compensation requires a responsibility criterion. The Tort Liability Act is applied to compensated cases.

If a student sustains material damage during teaching (e.g. acid splashes on clothing during a chemistry class, a ball brakes spectacles during physical education), the general practice of Turku City has been that the city will compensate the damage after receiving an application for compensation and the school’s report on the accident (Education Committee 25.8.1993 § 10 5113/601-93).

Non-compensable

The city will not compensate:

• possessions damaged during teaching if the student has acted against instructions given by the school
• possessions left in the cloakrooms
• possessions damaged during breaks
• possessions damaged on the way to school
• home insurance excess costs
• possessions brought to school by students on their own accord, for example mobile phones, cd-players or cameras, that have nothing to do with teaching

When required, an Education Division day care centre, school or education institution will give instructions for the injured party for making a written claim for damages.

Thefts at school

Thefts at a school or day care centre are complainant offences, so a report of offence should be made to the police: Report a crime

The schools or day care centres will also try to solve the cases internally but a report of offence should be made by the injured party or their custodian.

Voluntary group accident insurance of Turku City

The City of Turku has taken a voluntary group accident insurance that covers, among others, children at day care and students.

In some cases material damages can be compensated when the conditions of the voluntary group accident insurance of Turku City are met.

This insurance will compensate the following material damages:

• clothes that had to be torn in a first aid situation
• spectacles, hearing aids, dental prostheses, or safety helmets; costs of repairs or, if repairing is impossible and if the damages occurred in an accident which required doctor’s care, acquisition of an equivalent item.

Damages caused by a student

A student is obligated by the Tort Liability Act to compensate damages he/she has caused to the property of Turku City, another student, school staff member or a third party.