| Flowers in Gods Garden
Articles |
05/07/97 - Mother sues health
authority after murder by discharged patient
Clare Dyer, legal correspondent, BMJ
The mother of a 4 year old girl who was abducted, sexually
assaulted, and murdered by a mentally ill patient launched
a High Court action in London last week against the NHS
trust responsible for his release. The case is believed
to be the first damages claim in Britain against a health
authority or NHS trust by a relative of a released patient's
murder victim.
The girl's mother, Beverley Palmer, issued a writ for
negligence against Tees Health Authority and Hartlepool
and East Durham NHS Trust, which runs Hartlepool General
Hospital. Shaun Armstrong, who abducted, assaulted, and
murdered Rosie Palmer in June 1994 and mutilated her body,
had been under the hospital's care since March 1992.
He had been rehoused on a council estate full of children,
even though a senior social worker had warned that he
was "likely to be a risk to any child he comes into
contact with." In other such cases relatives have
been advised that negligence actions against health authorities
were unlikely to succeed.
Jayne Zito, whose husband, Jonathan, was killed by a schizophrenic,
Christopher Clunis, is suing Mr Clunis for trespass to
the person instead. He in turn is suing Camden and Islington
Health Authority for negligence over his treatment and
release, which he alleges resulted in his incarceration
for life. Ms Zito hopes to receive compensation from any
damages that he receives.
Ms Palmer is suing on behalf of her daughter's estate
for the sexual abuse that the girl suffered before her
death. She is also claiming compensation on her own behalf
for post-traumatic stress disorder and "pathological
grief," which have prevented her from earning a living
since her daughter's death three years ago. If she succeeds,
Ms Palmer could receive damages of £200 000 ($320
000).
But she faces a legal hurdle in holding the trust liable,
because the courts are loth to rule that public bodies
owe a duty of care to third parties. A second hurdle is
the House of Lords' ruling in the case relating to the
disaster at Hillsborough football stadium that relatives
must be "close in time and space" to the incident
to claim damages for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Ms Palmer did not see her daughter's abduction or assault,
but her lawyers argue that the murder happened at Mr Armstrong's
home, which was visible from her own, and she was near
his home when the body was discovered. An inquiry into
Mr Armstrong's care found a catalogue of failings by the
hospital and psychiatrists but concluded that the risk
could not have been anticipated. |
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