Steven Ford QC
Year of call
1992
Silk
2010
Instructing Steven Ford QC
For more information please contact our clerks by calling +44 (0)20 7242 3555.
Steven Ford QC is a specialist in child abuse and other psychiatric injury.
He acts in a wide range of 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.
Legal Expertise
Personal Injury
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. He 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 has acted for core participants in five of the investigations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
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.
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.
Notable 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 & 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.
Instructing Steven Ford QC
For more information please contact our clerks by calling +44 (0)20 7242 3555.
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