The TJ-SP ordered the São Paulo government to compensate R$150,000 for a former student burned by acid at a state school. The decision may be appealed.
The accident occurred when the teacher asked the students for help organizing chemical agents. The victim was given a bottle of acid and accidentally spilled it.
The young woman was hospitalized for around 19 days in 2017 due to the burns. In 2019, the Public Defender's Office took legal action on behalf of the family.
After an initial sentence of R$10,000 in 2025, the family appealed. The court increased the compensation after finding security flaws and permanent consequences.
The Court of Justice of São Paulo (TJ-SP) ordered the state government to compensate, R$150,000, a former student who suffered burns with sulfuric acid inside a state school in Praia Grande, on the coast of São Paulo. The decision may be appealed.
The accident happened when the victim, aged 16 at the time, was in high school and was taking part in a physics class at Escola Jardim Bopeva. Upon entering one of the laboratories, the teacher would have asked for help from students to organize chemical agents that were there.
To g1, the government of São Paulo informed that it was notified and that the case is being analyzed by the State Attorney General's Office (PGE), which will comment on the case files.
As reported to the Court, the students had to take the vials to a room that was restricted to teachers. Upon receiving a bottle containing sulfuric acid from a colleague, however, the victim accidentally spilled the product on his body and suffered burns.
The young woman was rescued and taken to the burns ward at Santa Casa de Santos, where she was hospitalized for around 19 days in 2017. She suffered second and third degree burns on her hip and leg. Even after discharge, the victim needed to be accompanied to change dressings.
In 2019, her family went to court requesting compensation for moral, material and aesthetic damages. The family members were represented by the São Paulo Public Defender's Office, which requested more than R$350,000 in reparations.
The expertise confirmed the relationship between the accident and the injuries, in addition to pointing out permanent aesthetic damage and the possibility of motor complications. In 2025, the Praia Grande Court ordered the state to compensate the former student with R$10,000 for moral and aesthetic damages.
The Court understood that there was a failure on the part of the administration to take care of the student, as she was authorized to enter a restricted area, handle acid and carry out the task without protective equipment.
Furthermore, judge Graciella Lorenzo Salzman ordered the state to compensate the young woman's mother for around R$530, for salary deductions suffered while accompanying her daughter during hospitalization. The family appealed asking for an increase in compensation.
The appeal was judged by the 4th Chamber of Public Law of the TJ-SP, under the report of judge Maurício Fiorito. The board upheld the appeal and increased the compensation to R$150,000 on August 26.
For the rapporteur, the evidence demonstrated that there was a failure on the part of the administration to take care of the student, as she was authorized to enter a restricted area, handle acid and carry out the task without protective equipment.
The court also considered the severity and permanence of the consequences. The report pointed out extensive scars on the left leg, classified the aesthetic damage as "quite important" and stated that the injuries were apparent and irreversible.
The judge also considered that the episode generated feelings of physical pain, anguish, terror, emotional instability, distress and embarrassment for the young woman, who had to live with the aesthetic consequences, which affect her image and limit her daily actions.
