Abuse claim shortlisted for ‘Outstanding Case of the Year’ award
A claim that our abuse compensation solicitors recently dealt with has been shortlisted for “Outstanding Case of the Year” in the Personal Injury Awards.
The award is given to solicitors who achieve precedent-setting results in challenging circumstances and which have an impact on the wider legal profession.
The case that earned the nomination concerned abuse suffered by our client while he was at primary school and after he left. It was an unusual claim as it did not involve sexual assault. His headmistress took a ‘shine’ to him when he joined the school. She gave him gifts, developed a close relationship with his family and on one occasion even shared a bed with him.
The headmistress herself denied the allegations, maintaining that her interactions with our client were not improper. However, her colleagues at the school raised concerns about her behaviour. They reported that there were ‘signs of grooming’ and that the headmistress was acting like a ‘love sick teenager’.
The school abuse claim was defended and resulted in a five day trial taking place, which unfortunately had to be delayed by over a year because of Covid.
At the end of the trial the court ruled in our client’s favour and awarded him compensation exceeding a quarter of a million pounds.
The judge accepted that the headmistress had not been grooming our client or seeking to exploit him for her sexual gratification. Instead her motivation was to satisfy “a need to love and feel loved in a family setting, and to have a close and quasi-maternal role in the life of a boy to whom she had become inappropriately attached.”
The court said that our client had suffered anxiety and depression and sustained PTSD as a result of the events.
If you would like to discuss your case with experienced abuse compensation solicitors who work on a no win, no fee basis then contact our confidential helpline for a free case assessment. Call us 0333 888 0445 for a chat or send an email to us at [email protected]