By BarefootLawyers.
The school where Mabirizi’s daughter goes has just called. His daughter has been rushed to hospital after having some reaction to the injection she was given by the school nurse. It turns out that the school was immunising all the girls and his daughter got a bad reaction.
Mabirizi wants to sue the school for immunising his child without his permission. Can he sue them?
WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY?
By law, (the Immunization Act 2017), it is the duty of parents to make sure that their children are immunized against killer diseases such as polio, tetanus, etc. This is because a child (a person who is below the Age of 18 years) cannot legally make decisions for themselves and these decisions must be made by a person who has parental responsibility over them.
This can be their biological parent, guardian or anyone who has been given authority to look after them and make decisions on their behalf. So, a parent/guardian must be informed and give their permission before any medical procedure such as immunization is given to their child.
However, this same law, says even when there is no permission given, the school must make sure that all girls between the agrees of 15 -18 years must be immunized against tetanus because they are of childbearing age. This means that when it comes to this tetanus immunisation, the school does not need permission from a parent to do what the law has said.
However, as parents, it may be advisable to take your own children for immunization and present immunization cards to the school before your children can be admitted to show that you have fulfilled your duty. Some schools also ask parents to take their children for medical checkups so that the school is aware of their medical conditions that those children may have. This helps to ensure that the child is not handled in a way that is harmful to them.
📷: World Health Organisation
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