Background
Farleys’ specialist abuse solicitors were instructed by Client K in September of 2016 following terrible abuse suffered during childhood. She had grown up within the Oxfordshire region and had suffered prolonged physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her father.
Our client alleged that she had been let down by the Social Services Department of Oxfordshire County Council who knew or ought to have known that the abuse was occurring, and who ought to have taken steps to remove her from the abusive home environment.
How our team were able to help
Jonathan Bridge acted on behalf of Client K and obtained pre-action disclosure of all relevant records, particularly Social Services records. These were carefully reviewed and considered by Farleys’ review team and on the basis of the records, a detailed letter of claim was forwarded to the Defendant (Oxfordshire Council Council).
This was a difficult case where there were arguments as to whether the Defendants were in any way liable and if so at which point they should have intervened to remove the Claimant thereby preventing any further abuse by her father.
In this particular case it was difficult to establish the exact date of removal which in turn made causation difficult. The claim had to be compromised on the basis that some of the abuse would have taken place regardless of the failings of Oxfordshire County Council, but that some of the abuse could have been avoided. In turn consideration had to be given as to which element of the Claimant’s symptoms could be attributed to the period prior to the Council’s failings and which symptoms were their fault.
Full GP, hospital and psychiatric records were obtained and considered and evidence obtained from a suitably qualified medico-legal consultant.
Settlement
Farleys instructed Justin Levinson of Counsel and following further negotiation with the Defendant an initial offer of £37,500 was increased to an eventual settlement sum of £55,000.
Commenting on the case Jonathan Bridge said;
“This was a typical failure to remove claim with all of the attendant difficulties. The claim was brought many years outside the relevant limitation period. There were difficulties in establishing liability and even when liability could be established causation was impacted by abuse which would have happened regardless of the Defendants failings.
The eventual settlement sum achieved took into account all of the risks with the claim and whilst it will never make up for what the client went through it has given her some compensation to assist in the future.”
A Confidential Service
If you are looking to make a claim, as acknowledged specialists in this area of law, we understand that talking to a lawyer about any sexual or physical abuse you have suffered will be extremely difficult, and want to assure you Farleys will do everything in our power to make sure that you not only feel safe and comfortable with your solicitor, but also that you receive the appropriate compensation for your suffering.
Phone our dedicated abuse compensation phone line on on 0330 134 6430, email us or use or online chat at the bottom of this page to get in touch.