Abuse Claims

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As you may have suffered abuse whilst under the care of another, you could be entitled to claim compensation. At Harris Fowler we specialise in getting you the compensation you deserve. This page will set out the elements of a claim we will need to prove and some hints and tips to help your claim go smoothly.

When bringing a claim as a result of abuse it is possible to bring a claim against a number of parties and authorities even if the abuser is working at the time of the abuse.

Claims against the abuser

Claims in abuse can be brought directly against the abuser for assault, battery and/or false imprisonment.

In order to bring a claim you will need to show that the abuser either

Acted in such a way they made you believe you were about to be attacked,
The abuser intentionally touched you or used physical force against you
Falsely imprisoned you(i.e. held you against your will without legal justification)

Claims can be pursued successfully, particularly where the police have already secured a criminal conviction in relation to the offence in question. But the unfortunate reality is that the abuser themselves may not have the means to pay you compensation or have an insurance policy to cover any compensation.

As such it is quite often beneficial to your claim to look at organisations that may also be liable for the abusers actions.

Claims against the abusers employer

Claims can also be brought against the organisation the abuser works for if the abuse occurred during the abuser’s employment. This is called vicarious liability and means that an employer may be responsible for the actions of their employees during their employment.

The difficulty with abuse claims is that the employer will often try to argue that the sexual abuse of children or the assault of patients will fall outside the normal course of employment.

The courts have already found that employers are liable where their employees are entrusted with a special duty of care (for example as between a teacher and a student or a nurse and patient) which is then breached and the breach is sufficiently connected to the role the employee undertakes.

When deciding whether there is a sufficient connection between the role and the abuse the court has to consider the following

Whether the opportunity to abuse was afforded by the Defendant company
Whether the extent to which the intended (note intended by the Defendant employer) relationship would further the aims of the employer (i.e. the benefit the employer receives)
Whether the extent to which the abuse was related to the intimacy of the nature of the relationship with the employer
What was the power balance between the employee and you (i.e. was the employee supervising you)
Your vulnerability to abuse by wrongful exercise of the employers powers

This is a highly technical area of law and it is important you speak to our specialist personal injury lawyers.

Direct right of action against abusers employer

You may also have a claim against the employer of the abuser where the employer themselves owes you a duty of care usually as a service user, patient or student; or they may also be your own employer.

In these circumstances the employer has a duty to take reasonable care to ensure you are, and remain safe. This duty is to take reasonable care so if you suffer abuse as a result of the employer’s failure to take care, for example by not performing any or any appropriate background checks, then you could be entitled to compensation.

If you can show that the employer’s failure to act reasonably resulted in your abuse then you may be able to claim compensation and damages from the employer directly.

Claims against other organisations

Claims can also be brought against an organisation even where the abuser wasn’t an employee, if that organisation owed you a duty of care.

This duty is the same as owed by any party to another i.e. to take reasonable care to avoid harming the other party.

Whether the organisation owes you a duty of care will be a matter for our dedicated specialist abuse lawyers who will advise you of any possible claims, on hearing the facts of your case. The potential organisations against which a claim can be made can be quite wide and we will leave no stone unturned.

For example, the courts have held that where a council rehoused a registered sexual offender near to a residential children’s home, the council and the police that approved the decision were liable to the abused individual as it had failed to assess the suitability of the location and had failed to provide other relevant agencies with information about the risk the offender posed.

Showing that breach caused loss

The final part of bringing any of the above claims is demonstrating that the breach of abusive behaviour is responsible for causing the injury and losses being claimed, whether this is personal injury or other financial losses such as loss of earnings.

Personal injury

As it is often difficult for the court to assess whether certain actions or inactions have caused injury the court will rely upon the opinion of an independent medical expert whose duties are to the court. This expert will provide an opinion to the court as to what injury the abuse has caused and how long any symptoms may last.

In addition, as the expert will need to comment on whether any financial losses such as treatment received or time off work is due to the abuse, it is important that you also discuss these with the medical expert.

Other losses

Once the medical expert has provided their opinion as to whether the loss (time off work/treatment etc.) is as a result of the breach of duty we will then need to collect evidence to calculate what each head of loss may be and your highly qualified and experienced lawyer will advise what is needed in respect of each head of loss you are looking to claim.

The important thing to remember however is to keep receipts for any expenses you incur as it will help us prove the loss and recover the monies in respect of that loss.

Other claims

Finally another potential route of claim that you may have will be by way of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). Their role is to provide compensation for people who have physical or mental injuries as a result of a violent crime.

As any claim needs to be started with CICA within two years of the crime happening it is important you contact our specialist abuse lawyers as soon as possible so that they can advise you on the suitable claims process to get you the compensation you deserve.

“Harris Fowler are the only ones I would trust. They make everything clear, easy and always deliver total honesty – Thank you to all who worked on my claim.”