£80,000 Compensation for Sexual Abuse Survivor

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Nathalie Swanwick

Abuse Claims Solicitor

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We represented a man who was sexually abused as a child by his mother’s partner. Mr M suffered severe abuse over a 2-year period, which caused serious psychological problems.

He was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which affected his ability to work, socially interact with others, and form relationships. Unfortunately, the abuser hadn’t been successfully prosecuted, so Mr M tried claiming compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

However, CICA didn’t arrange for him to be seen by a consultant psychiatrist, which was a necessary step to fairly value his claim. As a result, he was offered a relatively low amount of compensation of £6,600.

Mr M had heard about the reputation of our Child Abuse Solicitors, and our expertise in obtaining fair compensation settlements for adult survivors of child abuse. He contacted us for a free consultation and legal advice, and Solicitor Nathalie Swanwick agreed to take on his Criminal Injury Abuse Claim on a No Win, No Fee basis.

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To find out more about how our abuse solicitors can help you, get in touch with our friendly and compassionate team.

How We Helped

When Nathalie took on the case, an appeal had already been made to the Tribunal Service. Nathalie successfully pushed for Mr M to be medically assessed by a consultant psychiatrist, instead of a psychologist, as had originally been proposed.

Since Nathalie recognised the complexity of Mr M’s psychological symptoms, she made sure that the appropriate expert was brought in to help.

After receiving a medical report from the consultant psychiatrist, Nathalie raised further questions with the expert, and a second report was prepared to make sure the psychiatric report truly reflected Mr M’s symptoms and his inability to work.

This additional evidence was crucial in determining how severe his psychiatric injury was, as well as how much he should claim for his loss of earnings. Nathalie prepared further evidence detailing Mr M’s losses and the effects of his psychiatric injuries ahead of an appeal hearing.

The Outcome

Following a final hearing in the First Tier Tribunal, Mr M was awarded more than £80,000 in compensation.

Thanks to the additional evidence obtained by Nathalie and her team, the Tribunal accepted that Mr M had suffered a permanent mental illness and awarded £22,000. The rest of the compensation award reflected his loss of earnings.

This adult survivor of child abuse case shows why it’s so important to have expert evidence in a sexual abuse claim, as the consultant psychiatrist’s report helped to make sure Mr M received the right amount of compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012.

Although the abuser hadn’t been successfully prosecuted, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority accepted there was enough evidence to prove that the abuse had happened.

Mr M hopes to use the compensation he received to set up his own business in the future, as his psychiatric symptoms mean he is still unable to work with other people.

Why Choose Us

When you have suffered sexual or physical abuse it can be difficult to reach out to someone for help. When you are ready, we are here to listen to your story and to help you get the support that you deserve.

Our Abuse Claims Solicitors are compassionate and easy to talk to. We pride ourselves on making sure that our clients feel safe to open up to us about what’s happened to them.

Contact us today to arrange free confidential legal advice. We will let you know how we can help and provide you with details for ongoing support such as counselling. We will also be able to discuss with you your options for funding your claim, either by legal aid or a No Win, No Fee agreement.

Types of Abuse Claims We Help With

We have significant experience in all types of abuse claims, so you are always in safe hands with us.

Here’s a list of some of the abuse claims we can assist you with:

We can also help you when it comes to Redress Schemes for abuse victims, if it’s suitable to your case.

We’re More Than Just Legal Advice

We pride ourselves on being a team of compassionate solicitors who care deeply about our clients. We want to support you in every way that we can to make sure you get the justice you deserve.

Here’s how we can help you:

Support Services

We understand that whether you suffered from abuse recently or 30 years ago, having a support network available to you can be life changing. While we are helping you with a claim for compensation, we can introduce you to plenty of support groups who provide services to survivors of abuse, such as NAPAC, The Survivors Trust, and SARSAS.

Personal Team

When you reach out to us for help,  you will have a dedicated solicitor who will support you throughout the process. This means that you will  build a close relationship with someone who you can trust. Whenever we get in touch with you about your claim, you will only speak with familiar names. We offer a fully personalised service, as we understand that no two cases are the same. We will do our upmost to support you in the way that you need.

We Speak Plainly

You never have to worry about legal jargon when you instruct us to help you with your claim. We will only ever communicate with you in plain English, so it’s easy to understand. We want our clients to be confident in the legal advice they are receiving, so we will happily explain everything in simple terms for you.

How Compensation Can Help You

We understand how difficult it is to come forward and bring a claim for compensation when you have experienced abuse. .

Claiming compensation cannot remove the suffering that you have experienced or make it right, but it can have a positive influence.

It can help survivors of abuse come to terms with what’s happened to them and move on with their lives If criminal prosecutions aren’t successful or possible, it is often our clients last chance at obtainingjustice.

Financial compensation can also help you  get the treatment you need tohelp you move on with your life.

Confidentiality

Before you instruct us to help you with a claim for compensation it will be important for you to know that we are bound by a duty of confidentiality, and we will never contact anyone in relation to your case without your consent. Everything that you tell us is 100% confidential, so you never have to worry about anyone else finding out any details about your claim.

We understand the importance of confidentiality and how important it is that survivors of abuse feel like they are talking to someone in safe and trusted space.

References:

www.simpsonmillar.co.uk. (2023). Physical and Sexual Abuse Claims | Simpson Millar Solicitors. [online] Available at: /abuse-claims-solicitors/

Nathalie Swanwick

Abuse Claims Solicitor

Areas of Expertise:
Abuse Claims

Nathalie began her legal career in 2009 after completing her law degree at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2008. She has specialised in abuse claims since 2010, and went on to qualify as a Solicitor in 2013.

Following her qualification Nathalie specialised in a range of personal injury claims including abuse claims and criminal injury claims. She has acted for clients who have suffered life-changing injuries such as brain injuries.

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