Catholic Church is Found Liable for Child Abuse in Test Case

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Catholic Church is Found Liable for Priest's Actions in Child Abuse Test Case [11th Nov 2011]

A high court ruling has found that the Catholic Church can be held responsible for the wrongdoing of its priests. It is thought that this could make it easier for victims of priests to get the compensation they deserve. A test case which found in favour of a woman who was sexually assaulted by a priest in a Portsmouth children's home, ruled that the church had provided the premises, the means, the training and the power to the priest and therefore they were culpable. The judge said that the relationship between the priest and the Bishop is one of employment and this sets a precedent for future similar cases. The church has however, been given leave to appeal on this point of law. If they succeed it could mean that no victims of priests will receive compensation from the church.

It has been suggested that Brodie Clark, the former UK borders chief could win as much as £135,000 in compensation if he decides to go ahead with a claim of constructive dismissal. Home office lawyers have even made it clear that he will win his case, after he was forced to resign after the home secretary Theresa May accused him of not following her instructions. This follows a row which broke out last week over the relaxation of border controls. It was claimed that May had agreed to certain passport checks could be relaxed, however she denies allowing this to be used outside of a small trial. Clark says that May has made his position untenable by suggesting that he was to blame for the fiasco publicly. It is thought his compensation package would include money in lieu of six months notice and a protected pension of £60,000 each year.

The mother of young girl is seeking compensation of £100,000 after a rolling pin fell from a third floor window and fractured the child's skull. Claire Burns from Fife has said that the rolling pin fell from the window of a Boots store in 2008. Boots have admitted breaches of health and safety regulations and have already paid a £6,500 fine. However the mother is also seeking compensation for the harm caused to her baby, who was 20 months old at the time, and the distress and alarm caused to her. In addition the grandparents of the girl are suing for £20,000 each as they were on the shopping trip when the incident occurred. They are claiming for emotional distress. However Boots, who are willing to compensate for the injury to the girl, say that they are not liable for secondary victims. They say that emotional problems suffered by others do not give rise to liability for damages.

A woman from Bromsgrove has lost her claim for compensation from a national pharmaceutical company after she claimed they unfairly changed her role in the company while she was on maternity leave. Tracey Phipps had been employed as an account executive, however her job was merged with another while she was on leave, causing her to leave the position. She said that this amounted to constructive dismissal. Her new role would have required her to travel extensively (despite her having a fear of flying and three children). However the judge decided to rule in favour of her employer in this case.

Other popular articles related to this one include: Child Abuse Compensation Claims, PPI Compensation Claims Companies, Bullying Compensation Claim, Unfair Dismissal Compensation Claim, Police Compensation Claim, Work Accident Compensation Claims, Hairdresser Injury Compensation Claims, and . Please let us know if you find any errors.

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