The University of Bristol discriminated against a student with crippling anxiety who took her own life ahead of a presentation in front of more than 300 people, a senior judge has ruled.
Natasha Abrahart, 20, was found dead in her flat in April 2018, the day before she was due to take part in a group presentation to staff and students in a 329-seat lecture theatre as part of her physics course.
Ms Abrahart, described as “hard-working and high-achieving”, made a previous suicide attempt earlier in the winter term and university staff were aware she was struggling.
In February 2018 she emailed one university employee saying: “I’ve been having suicidal thoughts and to a certain degree attempted it.”
Ms Abrahart’s parents, Robert and Margaret, sued the university, claiming it failed to deliver on its duties to their daughter under the Equalities Act.
The couple alleged the university failed to make reasonable adjustments for Ms Abrahart’s mental disability at a hearing at Bristol Civil Justice Centre earlier this year.
They also claimed she was a victim of indirect discrimination and suffered discrimination as a disabled student.
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Judge Alex Ralton on Friday ordered the university to pay £50,000 in damages to Ms Abrahart’s parents for failing to accommodate their daughter’s mental health disability or make reasonable adjustments to the way it assessed her.
However, the judge ruled that the university was not negligent.
But he said it had engaged in indirect disability discrimination and treated Ms Abrahart unfavourably because of the consequences of her disability. These breaches led to her death, Judge Ralton found.
In a 46-page written judgement Judge Ralton said: “It is obvious to me that the fundamental purpose of the assessments was to elicit from Natasha answers to questions put to her following the experiments and it is a statement of the obvious that such a process does not automatically require face-to-face oral interaction and there are other ways of achieving the same.”
The judge observed that “whilst a few ideas” regarding possible adjustments were “floated” by the university “none were implemented”.
In a statement, the university said its whole community had been deeply affected by the tragedy and extended its sympathies to Ms Abrahart’s loved ones.
Staff worked “incredibly hard and diligently” to support the student, who was receiving specialist support from the NHS, the statement continued.
“We cannot replicate the NHS but are committed to working with the NHS and other partners to improve services and ensure we are collectively providing the best possible support for students.
“Given the significant impact this decision could have on how all higher education providers support their students, we are reviewing the decision carefully, including whether to appeal.”
Hopes for the future crumbled
Speaking after the ruling, Mr Abrahart, a retired university lecturer, said: “Today, 1,481 days after Natasha took her own life on the day of an assessment she simply couldn’t do, after years of protestations from the university that it did all it could to support her, after having battled our way through an inquest and a civil trial, we finally have the truth: the University of Bristol broke the law and exposed our daughter to months of wholly unnecessary psychological trauma, as she watched her grades plummet, and her hopes for the future crumble before her eyes.”
Mrs Abrahart, a retired psychological wellbeing practitioner, called on the university to apologise, and “finally take its head out of the sand and recognise that now is the time for change”.
Acutely shy from childhood
Acting for the claimants, Jamie Burton QC told the court at the time that Ms Abrahart had been acutely shy from childhood.
She had grown up fascinated by physics and had taught herself computer programming.
Despite her social anxiety, the court heard Ms Abrahart had enrolled on a four-year Masters course at the University of Bristol.
Mr Burton said although she made friends, she rarely socialised outside her home, and if she did go out she was reliant on friends to order drinks and food for her.
‘Why do I find people so scary?’
Before the presentation, known as a laboratory conference, Ms Abrahart had struggled to complete one-on-one interview-based assessments, attending only two out of five.
In her first assessment, she was so shy, she scored only eight out of a possible 20 marks.
The court heard that in the months before her death, there was a “significant deterioration in her mental health”.
Ms Abrahart had carried out internet searches on the link between anxiety and depression, as well as searches such as “why do I hate people?” and “why do I find people scary?”
Ms Abrahart’s family say oral assessments could have been replaced with written versions, or she could have been provided with questions in advance.
They also say the laboratory conference could have been moved to a smaller venue.
Mr Burton said that despite the civil claim, Ms Abrahart’s parents do not allege any member of staff breached their duty of care to her, noting many had tried to help her.
It was also not claimed the university was in any way responsible for ensuring she got better or accessed services.
An inquest in May 2019 found Ms Abrahart had been neglected by mental health services.
But the coroner ruled the adequacy of support provided by the university was outside the scope of the inquest.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
