‘Breakthrough Mentor suffers psychiatric injuries’

Our client

From 2017, Anjali* worked as a breakthrough mentor within the breakthrough team. The team is responsible for supporting vulnerable people, including young children with a range of needs. Anjali was a devoted, hardworking team member, who wanted to make a difference for vulnerable children and help turn their lives around.

In April 2018, Anjali started mentoring a service user who was a young person. She was allocated the mentee with a relatively limited amount of risk, as established by assessment, analysis and consideration. It came to light that the young person had very complex needs and a family situation involving violence and abuse, including history of drug use, prostitution and suicide attempts.

Anjali was required to deal with a number of traumatic events, which included personal threats to her and her family. A significant amount of police protection was required to keep Anjali and her family safe. These measures included surveillance inside and outside the family home, daily check ups, and visits to her children at school.

Anjali raised a formal grievance to her employer as it became clear that Anjali was not appropriately briefed, and the case was not managed correctly. It was later found that the concerns raised were not taken seriously and there was no evidence of a risk assessment ever having taken place.

As a result, Anjali went on long term sick leave and developed psychiatric injuries, namely severe adjustment disorder, depression and anxiety.

How Slater and Gordon helped

Slater and Gordon's specialist industrial disease Associate Solicitor, Priyesh Mistry, represented Anjali. Priyesh appreciated the sensitive nature of the case and ensured Anjali was comfortable and had the necessary support in place to proceed with initiating the claim against her employer. Both Priyesh and Anjali understood the challenges and steps that needed to be taken to successfully bring a claim, which included obtaining expert evidence, witness evidence and disclosure.

Steps were taken to serve a Letter of Claim on Anjali’s employer emphasising the failings. In particular, this included that Anjali was not made aware of the risks of the young person, no risk assessment was carried out, and no support was put into place. Had the employer taken these steps, Anjali would not have endued the traumatic events and developed a psychiatric injury.

Anjali’s’ employer did not accept liability and further responses followed to argue Anjali’s case. Steps were taken to obtain medical evidence from a medico-legal psychiatrist, Dr Turkington. Dr Turkington agreed that Anjali had developed a psychiatric injury and had her employer taken the appropriate steps, she would not have developed the this in the first place. Anjali’s employer wanted to enter into negotiations and Priyesh negotiated a settlement for Anjali. This involved attending a joint settlement meeting. Following the meeting, a settlement was agreed. It is hoped that the compensation will assist Anjali with her ongoing care and needs.

How can Slater and Gordon help you?

Occupational stress is a unique and complex area of law. In these situations, we always urge those who have gone through something similar to contact our industrial disease experts, such as Priyesh Mistry, who are experienced in investigating complex claims such as these, and securing compensation where possible

If your employer failed in its duty of care, and you’ve suffered as a result, you have the right to seek justice. Our team of highly experienced occupational stress solicitors can take you through the claims process on a No Win No Fee basis, which means there is no financial risk to making a claim. To speak to an expert today, call us on 0330 041 5869 or contact us online here.

*Our client’s name has been changed for anonymity