In Saunders v Chief Constable of Sussex Police*, a police officer who suffered psychiatric illness after an incident with a violent suspect has failed in his appeal against the dismissal of his claim.
In spite of a finding of negligence on the part of the force when the officer returned to work, the trial judge found that it had not caused the subsequent mental breakdown and so the claim did not succeed.
Filed under Cases, Occupational Stress
In Mitchell & Others v United Co-operatives [2012] EWCA Civ 348 the Court of Appeal was asked to consider the extent of an employer’s duty of care in respect of robberies from a shop. In doing so, it confirmed that the duty did not extend to preventing such robberies but only to taking reasonable steps to deter them. Continue reading
Filed under Cases, Occupational Stress
Wormwoord Scrubs Prison (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Prison officers who suffered PTSD after being exposed to a violent escape have lost their claim for damages.
A violent offender was at HMP Wormwood Scrubs where internal risk assessments recognised he posed a high risk to the public, a high risk of hostage taking and there was a high risk of J’s escape with assistance. The prison also had information he had plans to feign illness in order to be taken to hospital to obtain drugs.
The prisoner indeed feigned illness and persuaded a prison doctor to refer him to hospital. He was taken chained to a gurney and handcuffed to one of three prison officers.
On his arrival, 2 masked confederates opened the ambulance doors, one armed with a handgun and the other brandishing a pair of bolt croppers. The handgun was held to the centre of the forehead of an officer causing him to fear he would be shot while another officer was threatened to have his hand cut off if the prisoner was not released. Continue reading
