Father blamed for kick on castle

The father of a boy who was brain damaged after being kicked on a bouncy castle should have supervised him better, the High Court has heard.

Sam Harris, then 11, who has Asperger syndrome, was kicked in the head by a much taller 15-year-old on the castle, in Strood, Kent in September 2005.

Sam, now of Spalding, Lincs, claims Catherine and Timothy Perry, who hired the castle, are to blame.

But the couple deny liability and blame Sam's father, David Harris.

The court has been told Sam suffered a skull fracture resulting in a "very serious and traumatic" brain injury.

He just happened to be lying on the cushion when someone did a flip. A most unhappy accident Mr Justice David Steel

Counsel for Mr and Mrs Perry, Graham Eklund, said the essence of their case was that Sam, who was diagnosed in 2004, was inclined either not to understand or obey instructions.

He said Mr Harris should have ensured his son did not go anywhere near the castle.

Mr Eklund referred to junior school records which expressed grave concerns about Sam's ability to listen to teachers and the need to look him in the eye when giving instructions.

"There is that need to be reminded of instructions he was given and they had to be reinforced," he said.

Sam's counsel, Susan Rodway, has said that constant supervision was required under the terms of the hire contract and as a matter of common sense.

But it was undisputed that Mrs Perry had her back to the castle at the time while strapping a child into a bungee run at the party to celebrate the Perry triplets' 10th birthday.

Legal costs

Mrs Perry, who hosted the party behind the family home in Jersey Road, has said she did not know Sam had Asperger's.

Judge Mr Justice David Steel said on Wednesday he could not see the relevance of Sam's condition and was very concerned at the legal costs being "thrown away" in the case.

He said that Mr Harris's counsel, Rohan Pershad, might accept, after the court had heard from medical experts, that someone with Asperger syndrome was more inclined to disobey.

"So what? He just happened to be lying - poor chap - on the cushion when someone did a flip. A most unhappy accident.

"But whether the young Harris boy was a potential Olympic athlete or whether he was seriously mentally unstable doesn't, it seems to me, have anything to do with the case at all."

The hearing was adjourned until Thursday.