Overview
Steven is a specialist in child abuse and psychiatric injury. He acts in personal injury claims, appears at public inquiries and represents institutions and individuals before disciplinary and other tribunals. He advises public sector, corporate and voluntary bodies on institutional liability for deliberate injury and compliance issues associated with his areas of practice, both in England and Wales and in other jurisdictions.
He represents local authorities and private social care providers, independent and state schools, universities and other education providers, health trusts and medical practitioners, voluntary organisations, charities, sports clubs and sports regulators, police forces and religious bodies of all denominations in claims concerning assault, abuse and neglect and in social care, health care and educational negligence claims.
He is a recognised expert in the tort liability of local authorities and the law of limitation, non-delegable duties and vicarious liability.
Personal Injury
Steven appears in all types of personal injury claims. His particular areas of expertise are the tort liability of local authorities, institutional liability for deliberate injury and the law of limitation, non-delegable duties and vicarious liability. He has recently appeared for the defendants in two Supreme Court cases: Armes-v-Nottinghamshire CC, about whether a local authority is vicariously liable for foster carers; and Woodland-v-Essex CC, concerning the circumstances in which a common law duty of care may be non-delegable. Steven also regularly acts in maximum severity brain and spinal injury claims and in fatal accident cases, asbestos-related and other disease claims and stress at work, bullying and harassment cases.
Abuse
Abuse
Steven has more than 20 years’ experience advising and representing defendants in abuse and related claims. He has advised the defendants in claims concerning the activities of the late Sir Cyril Smith and Bishop Peter Ball; he advised the BBC’s insurers in the Jimmy Savile and Stuart Hall claims. He acted for core participants in the first two hearings of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse: in the child migration module for Barnardos, and for Rochdale BC in the Rochdale, Cambridge House and Knowl View investigation (see “public inquiries”). He is acting in a number of ongoing large (100+) group actions involving abuse and neglect in care homes, private schools and state schools. He has appeared in many of the leading cases concerning the negligent “failure to remove” children from abusive parents and carers. He is presently acting for a number of sports clubs (including a Premier League football club) and sports regulators in claims concerning childhood abuse.
Personal Injury Cases
- NA-v-Nottinghamshire County Council [2017] UKSC 60: a local authority is vicariously liable for foster carers’ torts
- JL-v-the Scout Association and another [2017] EWCA Civ 82: application of s.33 of the Limitation Act to claims for assault
- Woodland-v-Essex County Council [2013] UKSC 66: when a common law duty of care is non-delegable
- Dunn-v-Durham [2012] EWCA Civ 1654: disclosure of social services records; interplay between DPA 1998, HRA 1998, PII and CPR
- Raggett-v-Governors of Preston Catholic College [2012] EWHC 3112 (QB) Swift J: former solicitor claiming damages of £4.4m for childhood sexual abuse committed by a Catholic Priest
Public Law
Steven regularly appears in public inquiries associated with his areas of practice and advises public sector, voluntary and corporate clients on related issues. He acted for a number of Health Authority employees in the Kerr/Haslam public enquiry into the sexual abuse of patients by two NHS Consultant Psychiatrists. He acted for core participants in each of the first two hearings of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA): in the child migration module for Barnardos, and for Rochdale BC in the Rochdale, Cambridge House and Knowl View investigation. He is instructed to advise and appear in future IICSA investigations. He is presently advising a Premier League football club in respect of the FA’s independent Inquiry into historical abuse in football.
Public Law Cases
- IICSA: Children Outside the UK (IICSA’s first public hearing February and July 2017)
Representing Barnardos in the Child Migration Module
- IICSA: Rochdale Borough Council, Cambridge House and Knowl View (IICSA’s second public hearing October 2017)
Representing Rochdale
