Family say Kilvington Grammar came close to victim blaming over death

The family of a diabetic teen who died on a class trip to Vietnam say the school came “dangerously close” to victim blaming over the tragedy.

Kilvington Grammar student Lachlan Cook died while on a school trip to Vietnam.

The family of a diabetic teenager who died after falling ill on an overseas class trip say his school was “dangerously close” to blaming the student rather than accepting their own failings.

Kilvington Grammar student Lachlan Cook, 16, was on a school trip to Vietnam in 2019 when he fell ill with symptoms including vomiting and slurred speech.

A staff member from World Challenge, the travel outfit that organised the trip, treated Lachlan’s illness as gastro but did not provide specific care for his Type 1 diabetes.

The following day his condition deteriorated and his glucose levels were found to be dangerously high.

Lachlan became unresponsive and was rushed to hospital where he entered cardiac arrest.

He was flown back to Australia but never regained consciousness and died in hospital.

Lachlan Cook died in 2019 after he contracted gastro on a school trip in Vietnam. Picture: Supplied

The Victorian Coroners Court held an inquest into the teenager’s death, probing if supervising staff had proper knowledge to treat Lachlan’s diabetes, if local medical assistance should have been sought sooner and if he should have been cleared to travel.

During final submissions on Thursday, barrister Andrew Woods, who is acting on behalf of the family, said suggestions that Lachlan was capable of self-managing his diabetes were “breathtakingly negligent”.

He also said claims that Lachlan’s mother, Kirsten McMahon, had failed to properly communicate to the school about her son’s condition were “offensive” and “unnecessary”.

“Kilvington came dangerously close to blaming Lachlan and his family rather than their own failings,” Mr Woods said.

“Lachlan was a child and he was in the care of adults.”

A key part of the inquest has examined why an action plan detailing how to treat Lachlan’s diabetes in the event he fell seriously ill was not provided to teachers or World Challenge staff despite being used on school camps in Australia.

Barrister Mary Anne Hartley QC, who has acted on behalf of Kilvington Grammar, said the school believed a World Challenge staff member was responsible for providing specific medical care.

“The school was led into a state of ignorance of the risks it was facing in relation to Lachlan ... and that the consequences of his diabetes would be adequately managed by World Challenge,” she said.

“The school submits that if it had been informed accurately of the challenges facing Lachlan, it would’ve provided adequate supervision as it had done so previously.”

Lachlan’s cause of death was found to be severe diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), most likely precipitated by a gastrointestinal infection.

Coroner Audrey Jamieson acknowledged the steps World Challenge and Kilvington Grammar had taken since Lachlan’s death but said his death was preventable.

She will hand down her findings at a later date.