In the trial surrounding the death of a student suffering from diabetes on a school trip, the two accused teachers were sentenced to a fine of 180 daily rates for negligent homicide. The fines for the two women, aged 34 and 60, are 7,200 euros and 23,400 euros respectively. The different amount arises because one of the two women is currently on parental leave and therefore has a lower income.
The then 13-year-old Emily died of a heart attack as a result of extreme hyperglycemia on a school trip to London in 2019. She had had diabetes for several years and was using an insulin pump.
Before the trial began, the public prosecutor’s office assumed that Emily’s death could “most likely” have been avoided if she had received medical treatment earlier. Classmates said they had drawn the teachers’ attention to Emily’s poor condition several times, but that the teachers only checked on the 13-year-old on the day of her departure. “Emily vomited every ten minutes,” said a classmate in the courtroom in Mönchengladbach. With this knowledge, according to the prosecution, the teachers could have recognized the girl’s symptoms of acute hyperglycemia and reacted earlier.
The public prosecutor accused the teachers of negligent homicide by omission. They did not adequately fulfill their obligation to obtain an overview of possible illnesses of the students when preparing for the trip. That’s why they didn’t know about Emily’s diabetes. The girl herself had probably neglected the necessary blood sugar measurements and insulin additions on the trip.