School recess suit under appeal

LONDON, March 20 (UPI) -- A case before a British appeals court could determine whether British children can be held liable for damages if they hurt people during recess.

Michelle Orchard, 42, took her case to the Court of Appeal after a lower court dismissed her suit against Sebastian Lee, The Times of London reported. Lee was only 13 when he knocked Orchard down in 2003 by running into her during a game of tag.

Orchard was a cafeteria worker at Corfe Castle School in Corfe Mullen, Dorset. In legal papers, she said she suffered serious brain injuries as well as broken teeth and a broken nose.

Lee's lawyer argued before the appeals panel that ordering his client to pay damages would not recognize that children act like children.

"This appeal raises a stark and important question: does the law have any part to play in the regulation of simple, (time honored), playground games?" Bernard Browne said.

The judges were expected to deliver their opinion in about a month.