NEWS
Bolt Burdon Kemp lead the way in this field of work, and are at the forefront of campaigns to change the law to enable more people to bring claims against their abusers, and those responsible for caring for them. Our lawyers are frequently called upon to contribute to the nationwide debate on these issues. Below are articles from professional journals, written by members of our child abuse team, press releases, Government responses and items from the local and national press highlighting our campaigning role in this area.
300 victims of abuse sue councils for neglect 24 December 2008
Jonathan Wheeler and the case of our client Jake Pierce are featured on the front page of The Times. Click here for the full story.
Doncaster fail to overturn negligence ruling 12 December 2008
Back in December last year we posted the news that our client Jake Pierce had succeeded in a claim in the High Court against Doncaster Council for failing to retain him in care. Doncaster Council which ran the social services department criticised by the High Court, appealed to the Court of Appeal and judgment was released today. The Court of Appeal accepted the trial judge’s ruling that Doncaster had indeed been negligent and had exposed our client to abuse and neglect when a child by his parents. Click here for the full story.
Jonathan Wheeler comments on the 'Baby P' case 18 November 2008
Jonathan Wheeler comments for the Independent on the 'Baby P' case. Click here for the full article.
'Devastated' child abuse victims allege insensitivity by official body 9 October 2008
Jonathan Wheeler comments for the Guardian on the experience of clients with the CICA. Click here for the full article in the Guardian.
Woman in 1988 sex attack can sue £7m lottery winner 9 July 2008
Jonathan Wheeler comments for the Guardian as the recent House of Lords judgement enables victims of abuse to bring claims previously debarred by time limits. Click here for the full article in the Guardian.
Leicester City Council pay out £400,000 in child abuse case 2 July 2008
Click here to read the article featured in the Leicester Mercury. Click here for more news on the case.
Latest written answer on limitation of actions 29 April 2008
View the latest written answer on limitation of actions, published in Hansard on 29 February 2008 here.
Association of Child Abuse Lawyers Magazine article on limitation March 2008
Jonathan Wheeler writes on the recent changes in the law on limitation, recently featured in the ACAL members magazine.
Click here to read the 'Failure to remove' article.
Click here to read the 'Limitation Game' article.
Government written answer on limitation 7 February 2008
View the Government written answer on limitation from 7 February 2008 here.
Guardian coverage of House of Lords judgment 31 January 2008
Click here to view the article in today's Guardian.
House of Lords Judgment delivered 30 January 2008
Click here for our press release on the judgment.
Click here to view the judgment.
Click here to view the coverage on the Channel 4 website. To see the interview with Jonathan Wheeler click here and select "watch the report".
House of Lords Judgment due next week 23 January 2008
On Wednesday 30th January, the House of Lords is set to deliver its judgment on the cases of X & Y v London Borough of Wandsworth and related appeals. For those of you who have been following our ‘change the limitation laws’ campaign, this could be the end of a long legal battle for our clients X and Y to get the compensation they deserve, following sexual abuse by a teacher at their school when they were teenagers. The sticking point all along has been that the limitation laws currently prevent some people who have suffered abuse from successfully claiming compensation because they are out of time to do so. The law currently requires some claimants to issue proceedings before their 24th birthday, even though many clients do not appreciate the damage done to them by the abuse until much later.
Jonathan Wheeler, partner and head of the child abuse team at Bolt Burdon Kemp represents X and Y: “We are anxious to receive the ‘Lords judgment.” he said. “If it is positive, not only my clients but people in a similar position all around the country will be able to bring claims where previously they may have been advised that there is no claim at all.”
We will report more next week once the outcome of our clients’ appeal is known.
You can also take a look at a recent petition to the Prime Minister about changing the limitation law
Landmark Judgment 13th December 2007
Jake Pierce aged 31, client of Bolt Burdon Kemp, won damages of £25,000 from Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council in a landmark judgment in the High Court today.
For more information on the case click here.
To see the coverage in the TimesOnline click here.
Success at last? 19th January 2007
We have received further encouraging news that the points raised by our "change the limitation law campaign" are getting through to the people who matter in Government:
On 9th January 2007 Baroness Ashton of Upholland, Under Secretary of State at the Department of Constitutional Affairs, announced that a consultation paper will be published this spring on a draft Bill to implement the recommendations made by the Law Commission in 2001 on the limitation law.
This is long overdue of course, but a specific date has not yet been set for the publication of the consultation paper. It is, however, the first sign that our message is getting through, and we remain hopeful that this will lead to a change in the law, allowing many more survivors of child abuse to bring proceedings against those who were responsible for their care.
We will keep you updated!
Government may "fast track" changes in the limitation law 27 July 2006
It seems that the changes to the limitation law for which this firm has been campaigning for some time, may come about more quickly than we had hoped.
On 13th June 2006 Hansard reported a response to a parliamentary question by Hugh Bayley, MP for the City of York, who represents a constituent who was abused in a young offender institution. Mr Bayley, who has also been campaigning for a change in the law, asked why the recommendations of the Law Commission, which were accepted by the government in 2002, had not yet been implemented. He commented that "four years is a long time to wait". The Law Commission recommended that the law on time limits be made more flexible.
In response to Mr Bayley's question Vera Baird, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for constitutional Affairs, said that it may be possible for changes to be made using the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill, which had its second reading last month. That bill provides for non-contentious recommendations by the Law Society to be implemented quickly. She said that "People who suffered sex abuse when they were children and did not appreciate its impact until much later often find themselves outside the limitation period, and therefore suffer injustice. We will certainly look at using that Bill to bring such a proposal forward; otherwise we will seek an early legislative opportunity".
Australian Court Backs Limitation Law Change 24 July 2006
The High Court of Australia last Thursday took a momentous step for survivors of child abuse in their country with a judgement which flexibly interpreted their own limitation laws, opening up the courts to people who otherwise would have been out of time for suing their abusers.
In Stingel v Clark [2006] HCA 27 (20 July 2006) the plaintiff alleged she was raped by the defendant in 1971, but only appreciated that her post traumatic stress disorder was attributable to the rape when it was diagnosed in 2000.
The majority of the judges in the Australian court had to decide whether sexual assault / rape could be described as "a breach of duty" and if so, whether the time limit for issuing court proceedings could be extended under existing Australian law relating to "disease" cases. They knew that they were expressly going against the leading case in the UK, Stubbings v Webb (decided by the House of Lords in this country in 1993) by finding for the plaintiff.
This is exactly the same debate which we had in the Court of Appeal in February this year, in the case of X & Y v London Borough of Wandsworth. The Court of Appeal said that they couldn't find for our clients because they felt constrained by the House of Lords' decision in Stubbings v Webb, but gave our clients permission to appeal to the House of Lords on the issue.
Jonathan Wheeler, head of personal injury at Bolt Burdon Kemp, who represented X & Y said "The judges in Australia should be applauded for taking a modern approach in interpreting their laws to reflect the real problems which claimants such as Ms Stingel had in bringing their cases, and which were never in the minds of the people who drafted the legislation back in Victorian times. This decision can only be good news too for my clients and all those who are in a similar position in the UK, who wish to press the case for change in the House of Lords."
Bolt Burdon Kemp are still waiting for the Legal Services Commission to grant their clients funding to pursue the X & Y case to the House of Lords.
Court of Appeal gives boost to our "change the limitation law" campaign 25 April 2006
Bolt Burdon Kemp, representing two clients who were sexually abused by their teacher as children, has been given permission to fight their clients' cases in the House of Lords. The judgement in the case of X & Y v London Borough of Wandsworth given by a unanimous Court of Appeal last Wednesday, and led by the Master of the Rolls himself, accepted that there were "serious deficiencies and incoherencies" in the country's limitation laws relating to child abuse claims. These provide that for intentional acts of abuse the time limit for suing is a fixed 6 years from the Claimant's 18th birthday, whereas for non intentional acts (negligence) there is a 3 year time period and this can be extended for dis-applied completely. This has provided the real anomaly that someone out of time for suing their father for abusing them, could successfully sue their mother for failing to protect them from the abuse.
The Court of Appeal complained that the Law Commission had originally identified this problem back in 1995 and in 2001 had produced a report recommending that the courts should have power to extend or dis-apply any time period in cases of child abuse. "The remedy has now been in Parliament's hands for nearly five years following a comprehensive law reform study at considerable public expense" Sir Anthony Clarke, the Master of the Rolls, noted.
Because the Court of Appeal felt constrained by a case decided in the House of Lords, they could not allow our clients to argue their case in the highest court in the land, in the hope that this will "rescue the law" from its current state.
Jonathan Wheeler, Head of Personal Injury at Bolt Burdon Kemp, who represented the two clients, said "The decision to allow us access to the House of Lords is a bold and unusual one. My clients are committed to fighting to change these unfair time limits and welcome this opportunity to do so".
This is also a huge boost for our Parliamentary campaign to change the limitation laws" Jonathan added. "If Parliament is not prepared to recognise that the law is unfair and change it, then maybe the House of Lords can".
Scottish Law Commission Discussion Paper
- Jonathan Wheeler was asked by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) to formulate a response to the above discussion paper on limitation issues in child abuse. His draft response which was submitted to APIL is here.
- 'Lobbying Parliament for Limitation Change Campaign
- Jonathan Wheeler writes about the progress made so far'. Article for Association of Child Abuse Lawyers (ACAL) newsletter, October 2005.
- When time's up for Justice
- Article from The Guardian 28 June 2005
- Bolt Burdon fights for longer limit to sue over child abuse
- Article from the Lawyer 27 June 2005
- Campaign to extend time limits on child abuse claims
- Article from the Telegraph 23 June 2005
- Reporting child abuse How the law works and what it can do for you
- Jonathan Wheeler discusses how survivors of abuse can use the law to get help, recognition and compensation for their experiences, and what to expect when they do so. Article for the National Association of People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC) web site, May 2005
- Acting for survivors of child abuse
- Jonathan Wheeler discusses the issues involved when a client discusses an abusive past. Article for the Association of Lawyers for Children newsletter, October 2004
- Officially Yours
- Jonathan Wheeler explores the role and relevance of the Official Solicitor in child abuse claims. Article for the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers (ACAL) newsletter, September 2004
- Know your limits
- Jonathan Wheeler looks at limitation in child abuse claims, providing an over view of the current law and practical guidance on the arguments to be employed in resisting preliminary hearings. Personal Injury Law Journal, April 2004