Compensation from the Local Authority

fiodyl

I know this is probably the wrong forum to post this but Ive searched the internet and found nothing, sp I would be gratefull for any advice from here or pointers for other places to look.

Ive been thinking abou this for a few months now but am still undecided on whether to go ahead or not- I have plenty of reasons not to do it.

I know it is possible, but Im not sure how likely it is that I would win.

If I did what would the compensation be like? i.e. would it be worth the stress?

I would need a solicitor I think, but how much would that cost?again is it worth it?
What kind of solicitor would I need?

Would I just have to base the claim on one aspect i.e wrongly taking my baby into care/delay in arranging suitable mother and baby placement/causing PTSD and separation anxiety/general intrusion and disruption to our private family life? If so which one or could I do them all at once or separately?

Is there a time limit? Could I see how I feel in a year?or is it now or never? and how long would the process take overall?

I know people will tell me to speak to CAB, but I can't talk face to fce about it without breaking down still, so nd to some info from he inernet before I speak out in RL, if I decide to do it of course.

LearntMyLesson

Hi

Firstly, I know nothing of time limits and legalities etc and also I work on the edges of social services but I'm not a social worker. Hopefully this gives me a chance to see both sides of the story here.

I think you need someone to talk to, who wil support you. I'm guessing you're fairly young so do you have a youth worker or someone from connextions who you trust? There are also independent support services who can help you or be an advocate for you and family support workers at Surestarts. Perhaps you could write down your feelings and they could visit a family law solicitor with you (you can get free 1/2 hour appointments).

Local authorities only take children into care when they're at risk of significant harm and whilst it may have been wrong in your case it's highly likely they followed legal procedure which will stand up in court. Also mother and baby foster placements are specialised , in short supply and cost lots of money. If you recieved compensation it will come out of the very budgets that can provide this specialised care - you may want to consider this.

Are you still in your foster placement? It's likely they will support you and know the care system well. I am well aware that social services might have been involved all of your life and have never done anything to help you - however you have to engage with them - and I think that would be loads easier if you had somebody on your side there with you.

HTH

fiodyl

im not that young Im neary years old.

Id never had any involvement with social services in my life until they snatched my 5 wek old daughter from me. I had done nothing wrong and would never ever allow any harm to come to my child.

My daughter was over 8 monhs old before social services arranged the mother and baby placement. In the interveening months they tried and failed to jusify he reasons for taking her in the first place.
They never had any evidence for what they accused me of and each time I was able to easily prove them wrong. But surely I shouldn't of been guilty until proven innocent.

The mother and baby assessment experts overwelmingly and undoubtedly agreed that my baby was 100% safe with me and should be returned to my ful time care immeadiatly. yet social services managed to delay her return home for a further 3 months.

They have ruined my life. I want justice.

fiodyl

sorry that should have said nearly 30 years old.

lauren_1

Social service don't just snatch babies willy nilly, they must have had cause for concern, concerns from health visitors, doctors, midwives, family.

Social services do not get involved unless asked to or the child is seen to be in immediate danger or harm or neglect.

What reasons did they give?

Oldernotwiser

fiodyl wrote: »

They never had any evidence for what they accused me of and each time I was able to easily prove them wrong. But surely I shouldn't of been guilty until proven .

I'm sure that it would help you to see that the situation isn't one of punishing you, so "innocent until proved guilty" is completely irrelevant here. If Social Services think that a child is at risk then they must take that child into care. If it's shown later that they were over cautious then surely that is better than putting a child at risk? I think that trying to claim compensation would be counterproductive and you'd be better using your energies to care for your child and look to the future.

Mips

Have you got your baby back now?

Have you got issues with bonding?

I think you really need to focus on your health and your babies, you really do.. I know you may feel victimised but they were acting out of your babies interests and where perhaps more worried than you think they should have been.

If you could provide a little more background into why this happened and what led up to it happening, it would be better to comment.

You are anonymous on here so nobody will be able to tell who you are

fiodyl

Yes she is back with me now, and no there are no issues with bonding and never have been. Our Health visitor, as long as she has known us, has always been extremely happy that my children are well cared for and loved, have everything they need, are meeting all their milestone- usually ahead of their respective ages. she does however agree that I have PTSD because of what happened, but I work very hard to make sure this has minimal/no effect on the childrens day to day lives.

The original reason for removing her from my care was 'risk of future emotional abuse' this was based on the fact that I had depresion in the past so was more likely to get Post Natal Depression.

Im not trying to say Social services didnt have reason to be involved, or even that they didnt have grounds for insisting we went to a mother and baby placement- in fact i wanted to go to one to prove myself and avoid separation, but they delayed on this for over 6 months.

But they were wrong to separate avery young baby from its mother. If they acted legally in doing this then the law is wrong, and challenging it is the only way it will change.

Mips

fiodyl wrote: »

Yes she is back with me now, and no there are no issues with bonding and never have been. Our Health visitor, as long as she has known us, has always been extremely happy that my children are well cared for and loved, have everything they need, are meeting all their milestone- usually ahead of their respective ages. she does however agree that I have PTSD because of what happened, but I work very hard to make sure this has minimal/no effect on the childrens day to day lives.

The original reason for removing her from my care was 'risk of future emotional abuse' this was based on the fact that I had depresion in the past so was more likely to get Post Natal Depression.

Im not trying to say Social services didnt have reason to be involved, or even that they didnt have grounds for insisting we went to a mother and baby placement- in fact i wanted to go to one to prove myself and avoid separation, but they delayed on this for over 6 months.

But they were wrong to separate avery young baby from its mother. If they acted legally in doing this then the law is wrong, and challenging it is the only way it will change.

Very sad situation. It is hard enough being a new Mum but to have that baby taken away.. my God I would be depressed too

That in itself could cause bonding issues and missing out on those months of a babies life would be traumatic, I don't even want to think too much about it.

I hope the PTSD improves with time and if you can be compensated then in this instance I hope someone pays.

viktory

I think it is utterly impossible for anyone on here to comment on whether you should take action against your LA. Perhaps understandably, you are reluctant to give full details and it sounds a very sensitive subject anyway.

See if you can get 30 minutes with a good solicitor (not one of these awful no win no fee firms). Then it is your decision and your decision alone to make. I also think it depends on your motiviation for considering action - do you want an apology and acknowledgement that they were wrong, or are you after 'easy' money?

To be honest, I think social services have a hard enough job without claims for compensation and having to defend their actions. They are damned if they do and damned if they don't. Perhaps best to let sleeping dogs lie and be grateful you have your child back.

fiodyl

The reason I put compensation in the thread title is that this is a mainly money related website and I was trying to make it fit. as I mentioned before I couldnt find any more suitable forums to post on instead.
I am certainly not after 'easy money' as you say, in fact money is the least important factor, although there have been financial implications for us (travel costs of 140 miles twice a week at one point and I will now be unlikely to get the job id planned on working with children) directly caused by this.

Im not sure that any compensation paid would come directly from the budget for funding further M&B placements, but it is one of the main reasons I have NOT to go ahead.

I primarily want to take action against the local to recieve an apology and an admission of wrong doing on their part, either individual social workers or the organisation as a whole. Whether they acted illegally or the system allowed mistakes to be made, lessons need to be learned for the sake of all children.

One of my causes for distress is the thought that, while social services were wrongly persuing us, another child in genuine danger, may not have recieved the help they desperatly needed.