“Mediation” Success for
Dyslexic Bullied and Harassed Victim!
Awdry Bailey & Douglas Solicitors were once again recently involved in yet another successful mediation to conclude a claim for personal injury arising from a stress at work claim, which avoided the need for what would have been an expensive, lengthy and undoubtedly stressful trial for the client...
The client was employed as a teacher at a secondary school in the Reading area in the summer of 2008. The client suffered from dyslexia which meant that she needed to have certain conditions in place such as structure to her work environment.
However, the college failed to provide her with the necessary backup to enable her to undertake her job, chopped and changed her line management cycle and adopted a bullying and harassing approach allied to increasing the work that she was required to undertake, which resulted in her being signed off sick because of work related stress.
The client became depressed and could not return to work. She resigned her position at school and has been unable to work ever since.
The client instructed Awdry Bailey & Douglas to act for her in bringing a claim for compensation in relation to the psychological injury she had suffered, and for her financial losses which consisted of substantial claims for loss of past and future income and pension.
Liability for the claim was hotly contested by the school’s local education authority. They denied the allegations made which resulted in Court proceedings being brought by the client against the Client’s employers.
Both parties obtained expert medical evidence to support their case and the matter was heading for an eight day contested trial when the parties took place in a mediation in London.
Without any admission of liability, the parties negotiated a successful settlement which resulted in the client receiving substantial compensation, plus payment of her legal costs, the claim having been funded by a Conditional Fee Agreement (no win no fee).
The whole process had been extremely difficult for the client but the use of mediation as a means of bringing the parties together in a less confrontational way than might otherwise have been the case at a trial, resulted in the successful conclusion.
