Jimmy Savile and the complex question of victim compensation
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Version 0 of 1. It is now known that 60 people from Stoke Mandeville hospital were abused by Jimmy Savile. But will they and his other victims receive compensation? And where will the money come from? The claimants’ first target is Savile’s estate. On his death in October 2011, the former BBC DJ left £4.3m. Eight named beneficiaries were given lifetime interests in a fund of £600,000 and the balance was left to a charitable trust he had created in 1984. After expenses, the estate was worth £3.3m last year. Savile had appointed National Westminster bank as executor of his will. After the entertainer was exposed by an ITV programme in October 2012, the bank began to receive letters from potential claimants seeking compensation. If those claims were valid, there would be nothing left for the charitable trust to inherit. Personal injury claims must normally be brought within three years. But the law lords ruled in 2008 that this time limit could be extended in cases of sexual assault. Each case must be decided on its facts. NatWest bank, as executor, set up a scheme under which it would consider claims. The scheme takes account of the fact that compensation may be payable by the BBC or the Department of Health in respect of assaults on their premises. Eight categories of assault were identified, ranging from touching over clothing to rape, with fixed sums payable for each category up to a maximum of £60,000. By the end of last October, 68 claims had been processed, with 11 settled at a total cost of £353,000. There were 131 outstanding claims for a total of £3.3m including costs. The scheme was approved by the high court a year ago despite objections by the Savile charitable trust. The trust was ordered to pay higher-than-normal legal costs because of what the judge regarded as its unreasonable conduct in challenging the scheme. The trust appealed on behalf of its beneficiaries — who include, ironically, the spinal injuries centre at Stoke Mandeville hospital – but it was largely dismissed by the court of appeal at the end of last year. All this litigation costs money – eight barristers appeared before the court of appeal last November – and Savile’s victims are bound to think that the money he left should go to them rather than lawyers. But trustees are required to act in the best interests of their beneficiaries and conflicts must ultimately be decided by the courts. Robert Ham QC, for the Savile trust, had argued that the compensation scheme was open to fraudulent claims. Of the 200 or so people bringing claims against Savile’s estate, more than 170 are represented by the law firm Slater and Gordon. It says it is “preparing claims against a number of organisations, including the BBC and relevant NHS institutions”. Although Savile was never an actual member of staff for either institution, the claimants argue that they were both liable for his actions while he was in a position that was “akin to an employee”. It would be hard for Stoke Mandeville hospital to deny this given the finding that Savile had “accommodation on the hospital site and had 24-hour, seven-day-a-week access to all parts of the hospital building complex”. Liz Dux, of Slater and Gordon, said last year that victims who claimed to have been abused on NHS premises would initially bring claims against the NHS, while those who alleged they had been assaulted in BBC buildings would first lodge claims against the corporation. She said both organisations had agreed that money from the Savile estate would initially be made available to victims of assaults that were neither on BBC nor NHS premises. The BBC and NHS would then claim against the estate if there was anything left after other victims had been compensated. What’s not clear at this stage is how much public money this will cost. The claims will certainly exhaust Savile’s estate. But, despite all the delays and complications, it does seem that most victims are likely to receive a sensible level of compensation for abuse that, in some cases, has affected them for most of their lives. |