A schoolboy was awarded £3,000 after getting a splinter in his bum. The seven-year-old received the payment after his parents sued the education authority.
The injury happened when he sat on a wooden bench in class. His parents said the wound took four weeks to heal and might leave a permanent scar.
The boy, a pupil at Winterbourne Junior Boys' School in Thornton Heath, south London, received £2,760 in compensation from Croydon Council, which is in charge of the school.
But other parents who have children at the school have slammed the payout as a waste of taxpayers' money.
One mother said: "All of the mums have been laughing about it. It is such a joke. How can they say it is the school's fault and sue them because he got a splinter on his bum?"
An unnamed dad added: "If my son got a splinter in his backside I would just laugh it off and get the tweezers. To sue the school is just proof that Britain is descending into compensation culture gone mad."
Chris McGovern, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education group, added: "We are wrapping our children up in cotton wool and robbing them of their childhood.
"The problem is that compensation claims breed compensation claims, as more parents become aware that they can sue for the slightest thing that happens to their child.
"Schools react by stopping any activity that includes even the lowest level of risk, meaning children miss out on fun and educational activities.
"We really need a lead from the courts on this. Common sense needs to prevail."
Croydon Council said: "There was an incident several years ago where a child received a small injury from a splinter on a wooden bench.The matter was settled following a claim by the pupil's parents."