Mildred, a frail but healthy 90 year old, lived in a private retirement home on the outskirts of Nottingham. Early one morning an intruder entered her room and subjected her to a violent sexual assault. Mildred fortunately suffered minimal physical injuries. However the trauma of the assault so severely damaged her mental health that she became withdrawn, irrational and dependent.
Our investigations revealed that her assailant was a local individual with a history of drug and alcohol abuse. Despite his past and the fact that he was aged well below retirement age, the owner of the residential home had offered him accommodation, to be paid for by the Local Authority. We were able to establish that when referring him to the home the Local Authority failed to make reference to his criminal record; notwithstanding this, on arrival at the home it became clear that the assailant was disturbed and potentially violent. We therefore brought Court proceedings against both the owner of the home and the Local Authority who had failed to properly screen the individual. Eventually both Defendants accepted a share of responsibility and compensation was paid to Mildred. However by the time that the case resolved, the effects of the assault had rendered her unable to manage her financial affairs. Accordingly we made an Application on her behalf to the Court of Protection to be appointed her official “Receiver” from which time we managed her finances on her behalf.
