An unprecedented negligence claim has been won against the Merseyside care home Roby House. This ground-breaking case is the first of its kind, in which a claim against a residential care home has reached trial and been formally ruled on.
Previous claims of this nature have all been settled out of court, avoiding a formal trial process and formal judgment.
His Honour Judge Peter Gregory ruled in favour of a claim made by the estate of Mrs Helena Nolan. Mrs Nolan was a resident of Roby House Care Home in Merseyside for a period of just over one year before she sadly passed away on the 15th of November 2016. The claim asserted that the standard of care provided by Roby House was sub-standard and/or grossly sub-standard. The estate brought a damages claim against the care home for breach of contract and negligence, citing that the care provided to Mrs Nolan was ‘woefully and shamefully inadequate’.
The body of this claim was built upon nine specific incidents and several more generalised complaints. These complaints were broadly supported by a series of reports created by the Care Quality Commission who assessed the standards of care at Roby House through several inspections, all of which took place during the time that Mrs Nolan was a resident. These inspections allowed the court to identify a ‘clear downward trajectory’ in the general care provided by Roby House and its members of staff.
The Court also heard about specific incidents involving Mrs Nolan, which had been allowed to occur due to several poor safeguarding practices. In one of these incidents, it was detailed that during the early hours of the morning Mrs Nolan was able to gain access to part of the home that she shouldn’t have been able to, where she fell down the stairs and sustained multiple injuries. She was able to access this area again at a later date, although she was not injured. Another incident saw Mrs Nolan leave the care home unsupervised, where she was later found by a busy main road.
After hearing the evidence, the Court awarded the Claimant a total of £8,750, comprised of discounted fees of approximately 20% (£7,500) of the total fees paid to Roby House Care Home due to the expected standard of care compared to the level of service actually provided, and a further £1,250 in damages for distress and disappointment related to the specific incidents that happened whilst Mrs Nolan was in the care of Roby House.
Representing the Claimant, Jackson Lees’ Head of Civil & Commercial Litigation, Andrew Leakey, says:
‘Although we are pleased with this result, we would have obviously liked more compensation for the distress placed on Mrs Nolan and her family during her time at Roby House Care Home, sadly this was not possible as the personal injury claim could not be advanced due to the actions of Mrs Nolan’s former solicitors. This case is the first of its kind and sets a real precedent for those who have suffered due to negligence in care homes, and their loved ones, to come forward and seek legal advice, as the court will take these matters seriously. It is hoped this case and others to follow will help drive up the standard of care in residential and nursing homes and hold those providers accountable.’
You can read the judgement here and find out more about the case on Westlaw UK ([2024] 2 WLUK 55)
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