Steven’s practice focuses on personal injury and professional negligence claims involving social workers, medical professionals and teachers. He represents local authorities, charities and private social care, religious and educational establishments in claims concerning child abuse, social care and educational negligence, stress at work, bullying and deliberate injury. He acts in clinical negligence cases, with a particular focus on claims involving psychiatric damage. He is experienced in all types of personal injury claims. He appears before disciplinary tribunals and at inquests and other enquiries. He advises public sector and corporate bodies on compliance issues associated with his areas of practice.
Prior to taking silk in 2010 Steven was recommended as a leading personal injury junior in the Legal 500 (2007), Chambers and Partners 2009 (“a good court manner and a thorough knowledge of abuse and failure to protect claims”) and Chambers and Partners 2010 (“an analytical and conscientious advocate who is admired by sources for his balanced approach”).
Steven regularly speaks and writes on personal injury, professional negligence and related topics. Recent seminars include “The baby P effect: local authority liability for abuse and neglect” with Berrymans Lace Mawer (March 2010), “Claims against Children’s Services” jointly hosted by 7 Bedford Row and Browne Jacobson (February 2010) and “Asbestos-related diseases”, a 7 Bedford Row seminar (October 2009).
Personal Injury
Steven’s personal injury practice is particularly focused on the tort liability of local authorities, charities, religious orders and private social care and education providers.
He has appeared in many of the recent high profile cases in this area: A-v-Hoare (the “lottery rapist” case), the leading case on limitation in cases of deliberate sexual assault; Raggett, the case of the city solicitor who alleged abuse by a catholic priest in childhood; group actions arising out of sexual abuse by Frank Beck in Leicestershire care homes and Keith Laverack in Cambridgeshire care homes.
Steven has been instructed by Zurich Municipal/MMI in more child abuse cases than any other member of the Bar. He has represented many county and city councils, instructed directly or by major firms of insurance solicitors, in large group actions (200+ claimants) involving abuse and neglect. He regularly acts for church bodies and religious orders in abuse cases.
He has appeared in a number of the leading reported High Court cases concerning the negligent “failure to remove” children from abusive parents and carers. He is currently acting in a multi-million pound claim brought by two boys catastrophically injured by their parents in their first few weeks of life, who allege that the local authority ought to have removed them from their parents’ care at birth. He has recently advised in a claim brought by a woman who alleges that the local authority’s negligent failure to remove her from the care of her abusive father in childhood resulted in her killing him, and the claim of a girl who alleged that the local authority negligently failed to remove her from her parents’ care before she bore three children to her father, who subsequently murdered them.
Steven undertakes other types of personal injury claims for both claimants and defendants. He acts in fatal accident cases, asbestos-related and other disease cases, stress at work claims, Animals Act claims, work accidents cases and bullying and harassment claims. He has particular experience and expertise in cases concerning limitation and psychiatric injury. He is regularly instructed by the leading UK liability insurers and also by major corporate clients such as Toyota, BAA, Securicor and Wilkinsons Hardware Stores.
Key cases
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NXS-v-London Borough of Camden [2009] EWHC 1786: local authority liability for failing to remove child from abusive parent
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Raggett-v-Society of Jesus [2009] EWHC 909: high profile claim by solicitor alleging damages for sexual abuse committed by a Catholic Priest
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TCD-v-London Borough of Harrow and others [2008] EWHC 3048: limitation in failure to remove claims
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A v Hoare: C v Middlesbrough Council: X & Anor v London Borough of Wandsworth: H v Suffolk County Council: Young v Catholic Care & Ors [2008] UKHL 6; (2008) 2 WLR 311: landmark ruling on the limitation period in cases involving deliberate sexual assault
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Crowley-v-Surrey County Council and others [2008] EWHC 1102: allegations of professional negligence against speech and language therapists
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E H Humphries (Norton) Ltd and Thistle Hotels Plc v Fire Alarm Fabrication Services Ltd [2006] EWCA Civ 1496; whether a contractor owes a duty of care to a sub-contractor's employees
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Anthony George Awberry v Marley Building Materials Ltd [2005] EWCA Civ 16: whether defendant can modify Part 36 payment after acceptance by claimant
Contact Steven Ford QC
Phone: +44 (0) 20 7242 3555
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7242 2511
Email: clerks@7br.co.uk