University 'discriminated against' student who took her own life in landmark ruling

Natasha Abrahart

A university has been told it discriminated against a student who took her own life in a landmark ruling that will have long-lasting ramifications for student assessments.

University of Bristol today lost its appeal against a ruling that it discriminated against Natasha Abrahart, 20, who was found dead in her flat in April 2018. On the day she took her own life, she was supposed to give a presentation that had caused her debilitating anxiety.

The judge ruled it had breached its duties under the Equality Act by failing to make adjustments for Natasha’s social anxiety disorder. The ruling will impact all UK universities and the way they assess their students, even those who do not have a diagnosed mental health condition.

On the day she died, Natasha was expected to give a presentation to more than 40 students in a 329-seat lecture theatre.

University staff were aware that she was struggling. The 20-year-old had attempted suicide in the past.

Before the presentation, known as a laboratory conference, she also struggled to complete one-on-one interview-based assessments. The court was told she had scored only eight out of a possible 20 marks in one assessment.

Natasha with her parents Margaret and Robert

In May 2022, Judge Alex Ralton ruled the university had failed to make “reasonable adjustments” for Ms Abrahart’s debilitating anxiety – which is considered a disability.

While he dismissed a claim that the university had been negligent, he found the university had engaged in indirect disability discrimination and treated her unfavourably because of the consequences of her disability.

As a result, the university was told to pay Natasha’s parents £50,000 in damages. They were also invited to agree to a sum to cover her funeral expenses.

In December last year, the university, which last year reported an income of £934.2million, brought an appeal to the High Court against the judge’s ruling.

It protested the ruling that it should have known enough about the disability to adjust the assessments, with its lawyers arguing the institution had acted reasonably given the importance of maintaining academic standards, and fairness to other students.

Robert Abrahart, the student’s father, opposed the appeal, with his lawyers arguing adjustments could have been made such as oral assessments being replaced with written versions or the student being provided with questions in advance.

Dismissing the university’s appeal, Mr Justice Linden said: “There will no doubt be many cases where it is reasonable to verify what the disabled person says and/or to require expert evidence or recommendations so as to make well-informed decisions… But what a disabled person says and/or does is evidence.

“There may be circumstances, such as urgency and/or the severity of their condition, in which a court will be prepared to conclude that it is sufficient evidence for an educational institution to be required to take action.”

Following the ruling, Professor Evelyn Welch, vice-chancellor and president of Britol University, said: “Natasha’s death is a tragedy – I am deeply sorry for the Abrahart family’s loss.

“At Bristol, we care profoundly for all our students, and their mental health and wellbeing is a priority and is at the heart of everything we do. We continue to develop and improve our services and safeguards to support our students who need help.

“In appealing, we were seeking clarity for the higher education sector around the application of the Equality Act when staff do not know a student has a disability, or when it has yet to be diagnosed. We will work with colleagues across the sector as we consider the judgment.

“We know there is always more to do, and we will keep working to achieve the best for everyone in our community.”