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Compensation successfully recovered in a care home assault claim.
Abuse lawyer, Elizabeth Duncan, has recovered compensation in a care home assault claim following an attack on an elderly woman by another resident.
Our client, Mrs X, had complex health needs, including dementia. She was both physically and mentally frail and vulnerable. She was also bed-bound.
On the night of the assault another resident in the care home where she lived entered Mrs X’s room. He pulled her out of bed and physically assaulted her, beating her with his fists and a Zimmer frame.
Mrs X was incredibly traumatised by her experience, though she was unable to communicate to her family precisely what had happened.
Given the health condition of Mrs X’s assailant the police could not bring charges against him. The care home was not forthcoming with her family about what had happened and in desperation, they turned to our specialist abuse team for help.
Elizabeth considered what had happened and agreed to assist the family on a No Win, No Fee basis.
She sent the care home a letter of claim arguing that they were to blame for failing to keep Mrs X safe and allowing potentially volatile residents to have access to a bed-bound vulnerable person with no supervision.
The care home argued that what had happened was unfortunate but unforeseeable, and there was nothing they could have done to prevent this awful attack.
Elizabeth refused to accept their defence. She countered that the incident could have been easily prevented with a nursing station or pressure pads outside doors to alert staff to residents on the move in the early hours.
Elizabeth therefore pressed on with the care home assault claim and issued court proceedings. This had the desired effect and shortly afterwards the care home negotiated an out of court settlement.
While money cannot undo what happened, the compensation represented an acknowledgment that the care home had been at fault.
How we can assist with your care home assault claim.
Our abuse team specialises in elder abuse cases. So, if an elderly loved one has been injured while in care, then contact us for a free consultation.
We will review the case, provide a free assessment, and give you details of our popular No Win, No Fee funding scheme.