The claimants were husband and wife. They had six children. The wife was severely disabled and confined to a wheelchair. In breach of their duty under section 21(1)(a) of the 1948 Act, the respondent council failed for some 20 months to provide the family with accommodation suited to her disability. The consequences were appalling. The wife was doubly incontinent and, because there was no wheelchair access to the lavatory, was forced to defecate and urinate on the living-room floor. And she was unable to play any part in looking after her six children.
Held: The respondent’s failure was a clear breach of the claimant’s article 8 rights and not at all finely balanced. The court awarded andpound;10,000 damages.
Judges:
Sullivan J
Citations:
[2002] EWHC 2282 (Admin), [2003] HRLR 111, [2003] LGR 423
Links:
Statutes:
Human Rights Act 1998 8, National Assistance Act 1948 21(1)(a)
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – McDonald, Regina (on The Application of) v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea SC 6-Jul-2011
The claimant, a former prima ballerina, had suffered injury as she grew old. She came to suffer a condition requiring her to urinate at several points during each night. The respondent had been providing a carer to stay with her each night to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Human Rights, Damages, Housing
Updated: 11 July 2022; Ref: scu.258663
