“The management became aware of the situation (which occurred on Monday) and launched an internal investigation to ascertain the facts,” stated Carlos Silveira, adding that “insurance was activated the following day.”
The incident was reported by Nivia Estevam, who refers to herself on Instagram as “the mother of the nine-year-old child who had his fingertips amputated inside the school in Portugal,” in the municipality of Cinfães, Viseu district.
“Two children closed the door on my son’s fingers” when he went to the bathroom, preventing him “from leaving and asking for help,” Nivia Estevam recounted in one of her posts, adding that the boy “lost a lot of blood and had to crawl under the door with his fingers already amputated.”
The boy underwent a three-hour surgery at São João Hospital in Porto and will “suffer from physical and psychological sequelae,” she stated, requesting legal assistance to cope with the current situation.
According to Nivia Estevam, the Monday episode occurred after she had already made other complaints about “hair pulling, kicking, and choking,” with “no measures taken by the school.”
The mother criticized the fact that on Monday the school did not call the police, did not explain to her the seriousness of the situation (of which she became aware only when she was already in the ambulance), and that the staff cleaned up “the entire incident location.”
“The school is treating this as a prank gone wrong,” she lamented.
Carlos Silveira refrained from providing further details about what happened on Monday due to the ongoing internal inquiry but assured that “emergency services were promptly called” and the school followed appropriate procedures.
“There is no PSP in Cinfães, only GNR. When INEM (National Institute of Medical Emergency) is called and it considers it a serious situation, it automatically contacts the security forces,” he explained.
Nivia Estevam’s plea for help was heard, and a group of 15 lawyers has offered to handle the case.
“We will file a complaint with the Public Prosecutor and handle the administrative case, the school’s civil liability in terms of supervision, and the civil process,” revealed lawyer Catarina Zuccaro.
Regarding the criminal aspect, the lawyers will study what action can be taken since “the involved parties are minors,” but they will be held accountable, she added.
“We are 15 lawyers who will act. Each team will handle a part: criminal, administrative, and civil,” said Catarina Zuccaro.
