Liam Goggin
Director of Public Law Practice Area
English
Being placed in foster care is often a traumatic experience in itself. If you suffered neglect or abuse (physical, emotional, or sexual) whilst in foster care, the impact on your life can be devastating. You may carry physical and emotional scars and have difficulty in trusting others. Compensation can help you access and fund the help and support you need to move forward. And you don’t have to do it alone. Our Child Abuse Solicitors can help you claim and get closure on this painful chapter of your life..
If you were abused by someone else whilst in foster care, for example, your social worker, we may be able to help you claim compensation against the local authority.
At Simpson Millar, we have a dedicated and specialist abuse team. We treat every client as unique and provide compassionate, sensitive, practical legal advice and support. With over 30 years of experience in helping people win compensation in abuse cases, we understand the enormous courage it takes to come forward and tell someone what happened to you. We'll do everything possible to get you the compensation you deserve.
When you are ready to talk about the abuse you endured in foster care, we'll give you a free initial consultation and let you know if we can help you to bring a claim.
Depending on your financial situation, you could qualify for Legal Aid. If you are not eligible for Legal Aid we may be able to offer No Win, No Fee. This means you'll pay nothing if your claim is unsuccessful, and we'll organise insurance so you won't have to pay any expenses or the other side's costs.
When a local authority believes a child is not safe in their family home, they may be placed in foster care. This can be on a short or long-term basis and some children may have more than one foster placement throughout their time in local authority care.
Most foster carers are dedicated to helping children from troubled backgrounds and homes get the stability and care they need to thrive. But sometimes abuse can occur and its effects can last a lifetime. Abuse can take on many forms and each can impact your life differently. Examples include:
Physical abuse includes the hitting, slapping, shoving, burning, and kicking of a child. Physical abuse can also occur through the use of objects such as canes, lighters, or other items used to punish or deliberately wound.
Sexual abuse is where a person engages in sexual contact with a person without their consent. These cases can be complex and distressing. Our Abuse Solicitors have the expertise and experience to manage your claim with sensitivity and compassion.
Emotional abuse takes many forms. It can involve constant criticism, emotional manipulation, name-calling, humiliation, withholding love and affection, and allowing a child to witness the abuse of another person. Emotional abuse can be just as damaging as physical abuse and can result in serious mental health issues such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression.
Child neglect is when a child's caregiver fails to provide basic needs such as food, housing, clothing, healthcare, education, and safety. According to the NSPCC, neglect is the most common form of child abuse.
When you're ready to talk, we're here to listen. Speaking out about child abuse is incredibly courageous. By talking to us, you can quickly establish whether:
You can trust that we'll provide all the information you need to make key decisions about your claim. We'll be by your side every step of the way. And if you are a parent bringing a claim on behalf of your child, we'll point you in the direction of support services we know and trust so you can access extra help if you need.
We know the courage it took for you to come forward. So, we make the compensation process simple and easy by going through the following steps:
Talking to us is the first and bravest step to making an abuse claim. Let our team take the burden you have been carrying off your shoulders.
In most cases, foster care abuse claims are brought against the local authority that placed you in foster care. To succeed in a compensation claim, you need to prove the following:
Our Child Abuse Solicitors will swiftly tell you if you are entitled to bring a case forward and if you choose to bring a claim, will support you every step of the way.
We're rated‘Excellent’
The three key differences between a civil claim and criminal prosecution are:
Yes whilst you can still pursue a claim for compensation it may be delayed so the investigation and trial can take place. You can still bring a compensation claim even if your abuser is found not guilty in a criminal trial.
In most cases, your compensation claim will be brought against the local authority responsible for the selection and monitoring of the foster carer. If the foster care arrangement was made through a private fostering agency, a claim could be made against them. It may also be possible to bring a claim directly against the foster carer who neglected or abused you.
If the abuse occurred in childhood, you have until your 21st birthday to issue court proceedings in order to bring a compensation claim for the abuse you suffered within time. But the Courts are aware that it often takes survivors of abuse a long time to talk about what happened to them. In some circumstances, the Court can make an exception to the limitation period and allow your claim to proceed out of time even if it happened many years ago, provided there can still be a fair trial and there were good reasons for the delay.
We're rated‘Excellent’"Professional, diligent and considerate To leave a review for Simpson Millar is no easy task. The instructions given to their team were from events that happened decades ago. Yet with great patience and professionalism I was afforded the opportunity to right wrongs. This team is hugely experienced, diligent and above all compassionate to your situation - this makes facing the hurdles of the legal process less burdensome and manageable - no matter how difficult you think it will be. Excellent communications - even over protracted periods of inactivity from other parties. I would recommend this team wholeheartedly. Thank you Simpson Millar and especially deep thanks to N.Swanwick Solicitor (Abuse Department)"
H. Stewart
Client
"When I very first came to you, I was so confused, scared, worried, fearful, not understanding things very clearly. I was made to feel very understood, relaxed, at ease in a place where my complaint would be understood."
Mr. W
Client
"I am really pleased with Nathalie. She went above and beyond what I would have expected the service of a Solicitor to be. She was superb. I have no complaints about the service at all. It was all spot on and Nathalie made a very stressful situation as easy to handle as possible."
Miss J Walden
Client
"Really pleased with the service I received from Nathalie Swanwick, she goes beyond and above whats expected to keep you informed of the progress of your case and to fight for the best outcome. Keeps in regular contact and does not charge for every minute she talks to you like some greedy unscrupulous solicitors that are only in it for the money. Knows the law well and has a no nonsense approach would definitely use again."
Sheila
Client
"Thank you Nathalie, Amna and the team who dealt with my case. They were very professional from day one, discreet, friendly and very informative. My case was resolved very fast."
K.L
Client
Yes. This means you won’t pay any money upfront for your legal fees but you will have to pay for additional costs, known as Disbursements, like Court fees or expert reports fees. This can be covered by an insurance product called After the Event Insurance which would cover these costs for you. Your case handler will provide more detail about this.
You’ll sign a Conditional Fee Agreement or a Damages Based Agreement that says if you lose your case, you won’t pay our legal costs. If you win your case, the other side will pay for a proportion of our legal costs, but we will also deduct a success fee from your damages which will be capped at a percentage agreed in advance.
Our Child Abuse Solicitors have a national reputation for being compassionate, caring, and driven to get survivors the compensation they need to move forward with their lives. Members of our child abuse team have worked on national inquiries and act as Trustees of abuse support services.
By choosing us, you can trust that we'll:
Domestic violence is often perceived only as physical acts of violence – But it’s much more complicated than that. A lot of the time, people witnessing or experiencing this kind of behaviour don’t know that it is domestic violence. It therefore often goes on unreported and is often ignored. But domestic violence can happen at any point in a person’s relationship and there are many forms that it can take.
Institutional abuse, also known as organisational abuse, is when an individual or group of individuals are neglected or suffer because of poor care practices within an organisation or care setting.
If you have experienced physical or sexual abuse and wish to make a claim under the Criminal Injuries Compensation (CIC) Scheme, contact our Abuse Claims Solicitors for free legal advice and a no-obligation discussion.
Our Child Abuse Solicitors have extensive experience in Legal Aid funding and can assist you with making an application. Legal aid is means tested so whether you qualify and how much you will receive will depend on your financial situation.
If the foster care provider was a private organisation that has closed down, you may be able to claim through its insurer or through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) or established historic abuse redress scheme. We'll help you make a historic abuse claim by finding out who was responsible for placing you in foster care and getting together the evidence needed to show you suffered abuse.
Evidence in child abuse claims is sometimes difficult to obtain as it is often the child's word against their abusers, especially when it happened many years ago. We will need to obtain social care and medical records including police reports if there are any to help with the claim
You'll also need to prove that the local authority or private foster care provider failed in their duty of care to keep you safe, and this caused you to be abused. Our specialist Abuse Claims Solicitors are dedicated to proving negligence and child abuse where there is a strong claim. We examine things like medical reports, social services reports, and police reports to help build your claim. Photos of your injuries, as well as emails and texts between you and your foster carer can also assist in putting together a robust case. You can trust we'll leave no stone unturned to gather the evidence required to prove your case.
Yes. Although it is helpful to your case if the abuse was reported to the police, it is not essential.. We'll quickly let you know if you can claim compensation and, if you wish to proceed, give you all the support and legal advice you need.
If your claim is against a local authority or private organisation, the process may take between 24 and 36 months. If the case is complex, the process could take longer. We'll do everything we can to resolve the matter as quickly as possible and get you the compensation you need to rebuild your life.
We know how stressful appearing in court can be, especially after what you've been through. Our Child Abuse Solicitors will do everything they can to reach an early settlement. But if you do have to attend court, we'll be by your side, providing all the support you need.
We'll keep your personal details confidential and protect your privacy. If your case does go to court, we can apply for an Anonymity Order so your name and personal information won't be mentioned in proceedings or media coverage of the case (if applicable).
Absolutely. The mental harm caused by physical and/or sexual abuse is well recognised. Part of your claim will include compensation for the pain and trauma you have suffered.
There are several support organisations dedicated to helping child abuse survivors, including:
We'll provide you with the details of these support services, so you can get in touch if you feel you need someone else to talk to.
Yes, if you're not happy with your current Abuse Claims Solicitor, you can contact us to see if we can help. You may need to pay a portion of your former solicitor's legal costs if you choose to change legal advisors part-way through your claim.
If other family members suffered abuse at the hands of a foster carer, they may also have a claim for compensation. We'll compassionately listen to their story and let you know the best way to proceed.
It is unlikely that your claim would go to court and you would have to give evidence, however it is still a possibility. If you do, you can rely on us to support you every step of the way and act in your best interests. The Court can also make changes to help you give evidence such as organising for you to speak via video call.
Fill in the form below to get in touch with one of our dedicated team members, or call our team today on: 0808 239 1287
