A public schoolteacher is suing the Ministry of Education for a seven-figure sum for personal injury and defamation.

Karen Clemons names CedarBridge Academy principal Kalmar Richards in two writs filed against the Minister of Education on December 1.

Court documents obtained by The Royal Gazette reveal that Ms Clemons is claiming for personal injury, intentional infliction of harm and negligence.

It is alleged in the first writ that the negligence was "in the supervision of senior employees and/or permitting or allowing such senior employees to victimise the plaintiff, causing physical and/or emotional harm".

The writ says the Education Minister — named as the defendant in the civil claim — is "vicariously liable" for the actions of Mrs. Richards "in performance of her duty" as CedarBridge principal.

The second writ states that the Education Minister is "vicariously liable" for "defamation by way of libel and slander by Kalmar Richards in her capacity as principal of CedarBridge Academy" and asks for damages.

Ms Clemons, of Crossfield Lane, Sandys, would not comment on the lawsuit yesterday and Mrs. Richards could not be contacted.

A Ministry of Education spokesman said: "The Ministry will not comment on matters before the courts."

Ms Clemons, a computer science teacher, has previously spoken publicly about alleged workplace bullying she suffered at a school.

She told this newspaper in an August 2008 interview that she was the victim of a targeted campaign of intimidation and that, as a result, she lost all confidence, suffered severe depression and became physically ill, resulting in a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The 51-year-old — who has also worked at the Berkeley Institute and Paget Primary, as well as schools in Texas — said in the interview that the problems began when she raised concerns about how something was being done and was then constantly picked on by superiors.

"The mental toll is incredible," she said. "I would go to bed on a Friday night and get up on a Monday morning to go to school. As a teacher I lost the zest. You have basically lost your mojo."

Ms Clemons suffered health problems, including sinus trouble, extreme fatigue and breathing difficulties, while working at CedarBridge, which was temporarily closed due to mould infestation in 2006.

Her doctor diagnosed illness caused by aspergillus, a mould spore found at the school. Ms Clemons first complained about the air quality at CedarBridge in January 2005, asking in an e-mail for the dust in air vents in her classroom to be cleaned.