A claim brought by four claimants in professional negligence and under the Human Rights Act 1998 against the children’s services department of the defendant local authority. A claim was made for personal injury – psychological injuries.
The matter was one of considerable legal complexity, encompassing the nature and scope of the defendant’s common law duty of care, the application of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the damages to be awarded under different causes of action.
The claims also included challenging issues regarding the interaction of litigation capacity with the capacity to manage a settlement fund and Court of Protection matters.
The claims were settled at a mediation where the claimants were represented by leading counsel. The handling of the claims required not only detailed knowledge and understanding of the legal and quantum issues but also an insight into the vulnerability of the claimants and the concerns of the defendant as a public body.
The claimants were all (previously or still) in the care of the defendant local authority - i.e. the defendant local authority was both the defendant/tortfeasor and corporate parent for the claimants. As such and having regard to the emotive nature of the underlying facts, the claims required very careful and sensitive handling.