A Supreme Court judge has awarded more than $1.27 million in damages to a former Werribee Secondary College teacher who suffered a nervous breakdown after being forced to teach unruly students.
Peter Doulis, 48, sued the state government, saying he was allocated an unduly heavy workload of “feral” classes at the college between 1998 and 2004.
The Supreme Court heard that in 2000, the college divided its years 8, 9 and 10 classes into five streams – accelerated, high achievers, medium achievers, low achievers and foundation.
Mr Doulis, who now suffers chronic severe depression, argued his classes were made up almost exclusively of the school’s most challenging students, including those who suffered from disabilities such as autism, dyslexia and Asperger’s syndrome, and others who were very badly behaved.
The court heard that even before class,
Mr Doulis’s students were “virtually crawling up the walls outside the classroom”.
Earlier this month, Supreme Court Justice Timothy Ginnane ruled the school had breached its duty of care because it did not reduce the number of difficult classes
Mr Doulis had to teach.
On Tuesday, Justice Ginnane made formal orders confirming Mr Doulis’s compensation payout, ordering that the Victorian Education Department pay him a total of $1,279,751.
The payout will include $300,000 in general damages, $337,090 for past loss of earnings, $550,000 for future economic loss, and $70,000 in interest on past loss of wages.
Solicitor Michael Magazanik, from Slater & Gordon, said Mr Doulis was focused on regaining his health.
“Peter was severely damaged by his experience at Werribee Secondary College and there’s no quick fixes here,” Mr Magazanik said. “This win doesn’t immediately repair his mental health.”
– with The Age
