High Court Upholds Ruling Against University of Bristol in Landmark Disability Discrimination Case

The university's failure to accommodate a student's social anxiety disorder contributed to her suicide, setting a precedent for higher education accountability.

The High Court dismissed the University of Bristol's appeal, upholding a ruling that it discriminated against Natasha Abrahart, a student with chronic anxiety, contributing to her suicide.
Natasha Abrahart, a 20-year-old physics student, took her own life in April 2018, the day she was due to give a presentation in a large lecture theatre.
The court found the university failed to make reasonable adjustments for Abrahart's social anxiety disorder, breaching the Equality Act.
The University of Bristol has been ordered to pay £50,000 in damages to Abrahart's parents, who have campaigned for a statutory duty of care for universities.
The case sets a legal precedent for how universities must accommodate students with disabilities and has sparked calls for reform in higher education.