Natasha Abrahart: University of Bristol discriminated against suicidal student, judge rules
The University has been ordered to pay Natasha's family £50,000, after she took her own life in 2018
Last updated 20th May 2022
A student at the University of Bristol took her own life because staff failed to accommodate her severe social anxiety.
That's what a judge at Bristol County Court has ruled in the case of Natasha Abrahart, who was found unresponsive in 2018 on the day she was due to give a presentation in a more than 300-seat lecture theatre.
The 20-year-old from Nottingham was known to have mental health problems and so her parents Bob and Maggie sued the university arguing it did not do enough to help her.
Today a judge agreed, ordering the university to pay Natasha's family £50,000 in damages.
In a statement a university spokesperson told us their thoughts are with Natasha's family.
"Like all universities, schools and colleges, we are deeply concerned by the increase of mental health issues amongst our young people nationally," they said.
"We do our very best to support any student who is struggling with their mental health and have a wide range of services available."
The court heard that in the months before Ms Abrahart's death, there was a "significant deterioration in her mental health".
In February 2018 she emailed one university employee, saying: "I've been having suicidal thoughts and to a certain degree attempted it."
In a written statement, His Honour Judge Alex Ralton ruled the university was not negligent but had breached its duties to make reasonable adjustments to the way it assessed Ms Abrahart.
He also said the university had engaged in indirect disability discrimination against Ms Abrahart, and treated Ms Abrahart unfavourably because of the consequences of her disability.
"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," his judgement reads.
He observed that "whilst a few ideas" regarding possible adjustments were "floated" by the university "none were implemented".
During the trial, Jamie Burton QC, for the claimants, said Ms Abrahart had been acutely shy from childhood.
She had grown up fascinated by physics and had taught herself computer programming.
He said she surrounded herself with a small group of long-standing friends while growing up but did not talk much.
Mr Burton added: "She would shut down when made the centre of attention or when confronted by people in positions of authority."
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?".
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", but continuing their statement, a university spokesperson says they are considering whether to appeal.
“We believe staff in the School of Physics worked incredibly hard and diligently to support Natasha during her time with us, and it was due to their efforts that she was receiving specialist mental health support from the NHS.
"Our staff’s efforts also included offering alternative options for Natasha’s assessments to alleviate the anxiety she faced about presenting her laboratory findings to her peers.
"We are very grateful to them for their endeavours on Natasha’s behalf and for their unwavering commitment to our 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."
They add that since Natasha's case, the university has introduced an "opt-in policy" to alert a nominated contact when they have serious concerns about a student’s wellbeing.
“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."
If you have been impacted by this story and are struggling with your mental health, you can contact the Samaritans any time on 116 123.
You can find more support here.