Peanut allergy Kita child is awarded personal care

Landessozialgericht ruled: Costs are borne by the welfare provider
A personal assistant was awarded by the Landessozialgericht Niedersachsen-Bremen (LSG) to a four-year kindergarten child from the district of Cuxhaven. The court ruled in an urgent procedure that a social welfare institution must pay the costs of care. The toddler suffers from a high-grade food allergy (peanut allergy). Such an allergy can affect daily life and significantly worsen the quality of life. In particularly severe cases, even a systemic allergic reaction can lead to life-threatening anaphylactic shock.
The toddler visited until December 2014 a normal kindergarten. Then the victim was diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy. There was a risk of a systemic allergic reaction. This may even lead to the death of those affected. The kindergarten attended was unable to ensure that the petitioner did not consume peanuts or peanut-containing foods. For this reason, the child had to be looked after by the family at home from that time on.

If an allergy is detected in a child, this may result in the claim to a personal care. (Image: Gorilla / fotolia.com)

Proposal for "peanut-free" Kita fails
The parents tried to enforce that the day care center will be designed "peanut-free" in the future. Despite the collaboration with educators and other parents, the proposal failed. The nursery was unable to ensure that no peanuts or products containing the traces of peanuts are consumed by the toddler.

LSG obliges social assistance agencies to bear costs
The parents applied to the social assistance institution for the costs of personal care to be covered during kindergarten. However, the responsible social assistance refused. The eighth Senate of the LSG has now overturned this decision. In the interim relief procedure, the responsible social assistance institution was provisionally obliged to cover the costs of personal assistance (Ref .: L 8 SO 177/15 B ER). The weekly amount is 20 hours.

Severe allergy is considered a disability
Such a severe food allergy could be considered a disability, the court ruled. Attending a daycare was crucial to the child's development. Therefore, the LSG was convinced that only through a personal assistance the participation in a life in the community can be made possible. The health authority noted that the applicant must be continuously cared for by a subject-informed person. Only then can it be avoided that peanuts, "peanut products" or peanut-containing foods are consumed. The Senate further stated that the applicant could not reasonably be looked after in other kindergartens in the area. The municipality itself had rejected the admission of the applicant in their kindergartens. Without another assistant, the health risks would be too high. The defendant had suggested a suitable care option, but this was out of the question. The distance to the place of residence (18km) is too long and the day care person looks after only two and three year old children, explained the LSG. (As)