It Could be You
"It Could be You!" went the slogan for the National Lottery.
Actually, it could be me.
In 1988 a former teacher, known only as Mrs. A, was walking in daylight in the park when the strangely-named Iorworth Hoare dragged her into the bushes and sexually assaulted her.
It was a brutal assault but Mrs A received only £5,000 damages from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. It was not worth her while suing Iorworth Hoare as he was by then a prisoner, serving a life sentence for the attack on Mrs. A and six other women.
However, in 2004 Iorworth Hoare was let out of prison on day release and won seven million pounds.
Mrs A tried to sue him but failed, as it was now sixteen years after the attack and the time limit by law is six years. She tried the High Court and the Court of Appeal but finally had to pay him £100,000 in legal fees because of this six-year time bar.
Today, in what the media keep referring to as a Historic Ruling, five law lords overturned the six-year bar, and gave courts discretion to extend the period to permit older claims. So Mrs A. now has the right to sue Iorworth Hoare, who was released on parole and now lives near Newcastle-upon-Tyne in a £700,000 house.
There are two things which interest me in this case.
The first one is that whoever thought of the six-year time bar was an idiot. Six years is nothing after undergoing a big trauma. I went through an - entirely different - trauma of my own after losing my first baby, going from not being believed by medical professionals when I said that I was in labour, to being neglected so much medically that I was about three days from death when my family finally took things into their own hands and carried me off to see a specialist.
Six years later it still seemed like yesterday. It was only about fifteen years later that it began to seem like the day before yesterday, and I began to think hey, perhaps I should have sued - - that'd show them!
I don't think I ever would have sued - it would have brought it all back to me too vividly. My way of dealing with it all has been doing the medical roleplay I do, to help to train future generations of doctors.
But certainly, if I had wanted to sue, a time limit of six years afterwards would have been far too soon.
The second thing about this case that interests me is this.
The park where Mrs A was walking, in daylight, was Roundhay Park, which is about a mile from my house. I have walked there, on my own, in daylight, hundreds of times.
So it could have been me.
I heard a rather pompous solicitor on the Jeremy Vine show on Radio Two arguing that, although today's judgement might seem the correct one, it might not set a good legal precedent.
Yes, well, perhaps. Meanwhile I'm going to cheer loudly for the persistent Mrs A. I hope she gets the lot.
Actually, it could be me.
In 1988 a former teacher, known only as Mrs. A, was walking in daylight in the park when the strangely-named Iorworth Hoare dragged her into the bushes and sexually assaulted her.
It was a brutal assault but Mrs A received only £5,000 damages from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board. It was not worth her while suing Iorworth Hoare as he was by then a prisoner, serving a life sentence for the attack on Mrs. A and six other women.
However, in 2004 Iorworth Hoare was let out of prison on day release and won seven million pounds.
Mrs A tried to sue him but failed, as it was now sixteen years after the attack and the time limit by law is six years. She tried the High Court and the Court of Appeal but finally had to pay him £100,000 in legal fees because of this six-year time bar.
Today, in what the media keep referring to as a Historic Ruling, five law lords overturned the six-year bar, and gave courts discretion to extend the period to permit older claims. So Mrs A. now has the right to sue Iorworth Hoare, who was released on parole and now lives near Newcastle-upon-Tyne in a £700,000 house.
There are two things which interest me in this case.
The first one is that whoever thought of the six-year time bar was an idiot. Six years is nothing after undergoing a big trauma. I went through an - entirely different - trauma of my own after losing my first baby, going from not being believed by medical professionals when I said that I was in labour, to being neglected so much medically that I was about three days from death when my family finally took things into their own hands and carried me off to see a specialist.
Six years later it still seemed like yesterday. It was only about fifteen years later that it began to seem like the day before yesterday, and I began to think hey, perhaps I should have sued - - that'd show them!
I don't think I ever would have sued - it would have brought it all back to me too vividly. My way of dealing with it all has been doing the medical roleplay I do, to help to train future generations of doctors.
But certainly, if I had wanted to sue, a time limit of six years afterwards would have been far too soon.
The second thing about this case that interests me is this.
The park where Mrs A was walking, in daylight, was Roundhay Park, which is about a mile from my house. I have walked there, on my own, in daylight, hundreds of times.
So it could have been me.
I heard a rather pompous solicitor on the Jeremy Vine show on Radio Two arguing that, although today's judgement might seem the correct one, it might not set a good legal precedent.
Yes, well, perhaps. Meanwhile I'm going to cheer loudly for the persistent Mrs A. I hope she gets the lot.
posted by Daphne at 4:29 pm
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