Childrens Homes : Child Abuse - Uppal Taylor Solicitors

If you wish to speak with one of our specialist solicitors, in the strictest confidence, then please call 0870 055 2260 - alternately please complete our online enquiry form.

Actions can be brought against the owners and operators of Children’s Homes, whether the Local Authority or a private organisation in respect of the following circumstances;

Abuse (Sexual, Physical and Emotional) committed within a Children’s Home either by members of staff, visitors to the home or other residents
Abuse committed off site at the Children’s Home either on trips or being taken off site by members of staff, visitors to the home or other residents

What can the Claimant claim for?

In these types of actions a Claimant can claim for;

Compensation for Pain, Suffering and Loss of Amenity
Compensation for loss of earnings or loss of opportunity on the open labour market consequential to the abuse
The costs of any psychotherapy or other treatment required on a private basis

For further information on Compensation and Damages please visit our ‘Damages Explained’ Page.

Compensation Claims in respect of Children’s Homes

The provision of care to a child within the care system at a Children’s Home should be a positive experience. ‘Care’ is defined as the provision of what is necessary for the welfare and protection of someone or something. All too often this definition seems to have been forgotten and the opposite is provided to vulnerable children.

Since the early 1990’s there has been a growing recognition of child abuse within Children’s Homes. The evidence shows that widespread abuse had been occurring for a number of decades previously but had been largely ignored or hidden. The first major report to look at this issue was the ‘Pindown Inquiry’ by Alan Levy and Barbara Kahan in 1991. The ‘Pindown Inquiry’ looked at a number of Children’s Homes in Staffordshire between 1983 and 1989 and found evidence of this unacceptable practice. In 1993 came the Leicestershire Inquiry which looked at homes in Leicestershire run by Frank Beck which found widespread abuse and unacceptable practices between 1973 and 1986. In 2000 came the ‘Waterhouse Report’ which looked at Children’s Homes within North Wales and found widespread abuse and maltreatment of children.

It is usual within such establishments were abuse has occurred that a system has developed and allowed to continue were abuse is widespread and commonplace and being committed by more than one individual. In some cases those who are not abusers turn a blind eye to the abuse which leaves vulnerable children having no where to turn and no escape. Residents live in an environment of fear of the next incident of abuse. Children may run away from these homes only to be returned by the Police upon discovery creating a feeling of hopelessness. On some occasions even if the child did disclose the abuse to external sources they were not believed. These systems can develop into establishments were even the residents turn to abusing other residents sometimes at the order of staff involved with the abuse.

Uppal Taylor Solicitors are vastly experienced in advising on claims against Children’s Homes and groups of Children’s Homes and are able to investigate, with a detailed and forensic eye, the systems that were in place in order to advise our clients fully and properly.

Possible Claims for Compensation

An individual who has been subjected to abuse and maltreatment within a Children’s Home has a number of possible claims, namely;

A Claim In Negligence Against the Owners/Operators of the Home.
The owners and operators of a Children’s Home will owe a duty of care to the children within their charge. In order to succeed in a claim in negligence the Claimant would need to show that this duty of care was breached and that the breach has caused injury and damage to the Claimant. The investigation of liability in negligence claims can involve extensive investigations, large volumes of documentation and possibly the report of a Social Care Expert. In the recent House of Lords case in A – v – Hoare it was decided that a Claimant would be able to bring proceedings for the deliberate acts of abuse themselves many years after the incidents took place, this provides much simpler issues for the Claimant to prove in order to succeed.
A Claim for the Assaults Committed
The Claimant may bring a claim against the owners and operators of the Children’s Home for the assaults they were subjected to. The issues here are simpler than a claim in negligence and require the Claimant to prove (1) that the abuse took place and (2) that the Defendants were liable for the abuse.

Proving that the Abuse Took Place
On some occasions the victim’s abuser may have been subject to criminal proceedings before the claim for compensation. If the abuser is convicted for the incidents of abuse the Claimant will be able to rely on the convictions to prove the abuse took place in the civil courts under the provisions of s.11 of the Civil Evidence Act 1968.

In some cases the abuser may have been acquitted or no criminal proceedings were brought. This does not mean that the Claimant is unable to prove that the abuse took place. The criminal courts require the prosecution to prove a case beyond ‘all reasonable doubt’; this is a very high burden of proof that must be satisfied for a conviction. However, in the civil courts the Claimant is required to prove his/her case ‘on the balance of probabilities’ i.e. that the events that the Claimant alleges took place were more likely than not to have occurred; this is a much lower standard of proof and past cases have been successful even if there is no conviction.
Abuse committed within the course of employment
It is a well established principal in English Law that employers can be held liable for those assaults committed by their employees acting within the course of their employment (This is known as the principle of Vicarious Liability). The House of Lords in Lister – v – Hesley Hall [2002] held that sexual abuse was not necessarily outside the scope of an employment, it depended upon whether there was a sufficiently close connection between the work which the employee had been employed to do and the acts of abuse. In respect of employees employed to look after children in their charge, this is likely to be proved.
A Claim Against the Perpetrators of the Abuse
A Claimant is entitled to bring proceedings against their abuser directly for the assaults committed against them. Click Here for further information on bringing claims directly against the abuser.
An Application to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
Any victim of a crime of violence, including sexual assaults and abuse, can make an application to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. Click Here for information on making an application to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

If you wish to speak with one of our specialist solicitors, in the strictest confidence, then please call 0870 055 2260 - alternately please complete our online enquiry form.

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