Judge discarded claims the charity did not have a duty of care
Victim Support Scotland (VSS) is being sued after a man claimed the charity caused him to lose thousands of pound in compensation after being abused by his mother.
The support group helped the man – know as Victim D - make a claim in May 2013 to Scotland’s Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) for which he was awarded £17,500.
His mother was sentenced to five years in 2011 for the abuse.
However he claims VSS failed to advise him to claim for loss of earnings after he lost his job because of the abuse.
A sheriff has now ruled at Edinburgh Sheriff Court that the charity failed to act with “reasonable skill and care”.
Sheriff Peter Braid rejected arguments that VSS was not to blame for Victim D missing out, and that the charity did not owe victims a duty of care.
Victim D, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: “Victim Support Scotland has a good reputation for helping victims but it really let me down with something I thought it was capable of doing.
“I also found it shocking to hear the charity argue it had no duty of care to victims when it took on their CICA cases.
“I applaud the charity for what it gets right for the thousands of people it helps every year, but it doesn’t change the fact its mistake with my case has prevented me from being able to secure the entitled means to get my life back on track.”
A VSS worker gave Victim D a leaflet detailing services the charity proves and included help with how to make claims to the CICA.
A spokesman for legal firm Digby Brown, which represents Victim D, said: “Victim Support Scotland is a support group that offers lots of services for lots of people. However we believed if it accepted instructions to represent the client then it did owe him a duty of care to get it right.”
Kate Wallace, chief executive of Victim Support Scotland, said “As the court process is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.
“As a national charity our remit is to provide emotional and practical support to people who have been affected by crime across Scotland. We have been doing this successfully for the last 30 years and it is our priority to provide the highest possible quality of service.”
Victim D claimed £100,000 compensation, however the final sum will be awarded at a future hearing.
