£80,000 Compensation for Sexual Abuse Survivor

A Criminal Injury Abuse Claim Case Study – Client Situation

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.

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.