Client C first approached Farleys 2 years ago in March 2023.

Background

Client C was subjected to sexual abuse by a family member from the age of 3 until her teens. Client C found the courage to report the abuse to the police when she was 16, however the perpetrator committed suicide before he could be brought to justice.

How Farleys Were Able to Help

Farleys submitted a claim to the CICA in March 2023. The CICA initially responded that they could not confirm details of the crime with the police. Farleys therefore consulted with Client C and submitted to the CICA a questionnaire confirming the details of the police reporting.

The CICA then requested the reasons why Client C had not brought the claim sooner. Usually, CICA claims must be brought within 2 years of having reported the incident to the police. Client C’s application was submitted 10 years late.

Client C had good reason for not applying sooner. She was suffering from serious mental health problems as a result of the abuse. Farleys therefore obtained a letter from Client C’s GP which confirmed that Client C was too emotionally unstable to address the abuse until 2023. Client C’s GP also helpfully completed a questionnaire from the CICA which detailed the injuries that Client C had suffered.

During this time, Farleys obtained Client C’s medical records, HMRC and DWP records. These were reviewed by the review team. The records revealed that Client C was suffering PTSD, anxiety and depression. She experienced flashback and nightmares. The records also revealed that the PTSD had been affecting Client C for 12 years. She had not been able to work due to the impact of the abuse.

Unfortunately, in April 2024, the CICA rejected Client C’s claim. Their reasoning was that Client C had failed to bring the claim sooner. Farleys reviewed this decision to the Tribunal. It was clear that the CICA had not considered the medical evidence of Client C, which clearly showed that she had psychiatric injury which prevented her from bringing the claim sooner.

Despite the overwhelming medical evidence confirming Client C’s injuries, the CICA further rejected the claim and maintained their position that Client C could have brought the claim sooner.

Jonathan Bridge and Client C therefore appealed this decision to the First Tier Tribunal.

In support of this, Jonathan Bridge instructed a psychiatric expert to prepare a report for Client C’s claim. Client C and the expert met in July 2024 and the report was prepared by August 2024.

Due to the complexity of the claim, the report required some amendments but ultimately confirmed that Client C was suffering from complex- PTSD and depressive disorder. This psychiatric injury was disabling and likely to be life-long. The report confirmed that these injuries meant that Client C would be unlikely to work again in the future, and that long term therapy would be needed so that Client C could manage her symptoms.

The report was submitted to the First Tier Tribunal in support of Farleys submissions that Client C was unable to bring the claim sooner. In October 2024, on the basis of these submissions, the CICA relented on their position, and agreed that Client C was unable to bring the claim sooner. The Tribunal Judge also agreed, and the claim was allowed to continue without a hearing.

The next stage was then quantifying the claim, in line with the CICA tarriffs. Farleys obtained updated medical records, and Jonathan Bridge prepared a Schedule of Loss using the review of Client C’s employment records. The Schedule of Loss was submitted to the CICA in October 2024.

Farleys’ abuse team kept in regular contact with the CICA requesting updates, and regularly updated Client C as to the progress of the claim. It took some time for the claim to be assessed, due to the delays of the CICA.

In February 2025 Client C received an offer of £258, 960.04. After discussing the offer with Jonathan Bridge, Client C accepted the offer. Client C received the award in March 2025.

Client C commented: “My whole life was impacted due to what happened to me. I told every professional I could think of to try and get help, a nurse told me to get over it and move on but this was impossible for me. I feel like I was left on my own to suffer and hide myself away from the world until I rang Jonathan Bridge and his team.

I’ve spent over 15 years without justice for what happened to me but I feel like I can now start to move on with my life and try to turn all the wrong that was done to me into something good.

“I can’t thank this team enough for everything they have done for me, they went above and beyond to make sure my mental health wasn’t effected any more than it had been. They explained everything to me and kept me updated on everything.

“I can finally close this door and fix everything that was broken, I felt like I was robbed of everything, my innocence, my childhood and my family and although this can’t be changed, Jonathan and his team have gave me a future that I could never have dreamed of and for that I am extremely thankful to them”

If you’d like to speak to a member of our abuse claims team in confidence about the possibility of pursuing a claim, please contact our dedicated abuse line on 0330 134 6430 or complete our online contact form and a member of the team will get in touch with you.