A Civil Claim in Negligence

A Civil Claim in Negligence

In many cases, particularly where a survivor was abused in a Children's Home, it will be possible to prove that someone was to blame for the personal injury suffered as a result of the abuse. The injury can be physical, psychological or both and this will be evidenced by an appropriate medical or psychological expert's report. Perhaps an abuser was employed at a Children's Home without having their references properly checked, or perhaps either you or other residents made complaints about being abused and these complaints were not investigated adequately - or at all - by the people in charge of the home.

We will analyse the circumstances in which the abuse you suffered occurred and advise you on the type of claim that is most appropriate for you. If you were resident in a Children's Home we will apply to the local authority that placed you in the home for copies of any files kept on you; we will need your written permission to do this.

If the perpetrator of the abuse was convicted in a Criminal Court then we may be able to get access to the evidence that the Police gathered when they were preparing for trial. In a previous multi-party action, which involved a perpetrator, Keith Laverack, who was jailed for 18 years for sexual offences against children in his care, Andrew Grove pioneered a Court approved Protocol between Solicitors acting and the Police, which gave lawyers access to Police material under certain stringent conditions.

In the Laverack case this Protocol led to the disclosure of vital evidence by the Police that was a deciding factor in forcing the local authority to settle the claims against them. After talking to you and making some preliminary investigations we will decide whether it is possible to sue anyone on your behalf for negligence.