Sandra King v Medical Services International Ltd
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 12 March 2012 |
| Neutral Citation | [2012] EWHC 970 (QB) |
| Docket Number | Claim No. HQ09X03731 |
| Court | Queen's Bench Division |
| Date | 12 March 2012 |
[2012] EWHC 970 (QB)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
Claim No. HQ09X03731
Introduction
This is a claim for damages for psychiatric injuries allegedly caused by harassment and bullying at work by one of the Claimant's colleagues, Dr Al Muhairi, for which it is alleged the Defendants are vicariously liable. The Claimant also alleges breaches of Section 1 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, negligence at common law and breach of contract. In closing submissions Counsel for the Claimant conceded that the claim in contract could not succeed if the other claims failed.
The Defendants accept that the Claimant has and continues to suffer from a psychiatric condition, but deny causation. They assert that even if Dr Al Muhairi's conduct was demanding it fell short of bullying and harassment. They assert that the state of her marriage, concern for her second son who is on the autistic spectrum, and the state of her physical health was/were the operating cause or causes. As the case has developed they have also relied on general pressure of work as a cause. They rely on the fact that the Claimant raised no formal grievance against Dr Al Muhairi as contra indicating a breach of duty alternatively as contributory negligence. Allegations that the claims are statute barred have not been pursued.
The Claimant has no previous psychiatric history nor is there any such history in her family. The expert psychiatrists consider this to be a complex case.
Background
The Claimant (DoB 24th December 1957) is now 54 years old. She was born and raised in Peterhead, Scotland and attended local schools. She obtained a BSc in Pharmacy and worked as a pharmacist in London before joining the Cromwell Hospital as a pharmacist in 1983. Her career advanced speedily and she became a manager. She became Manager Administration in 1992 and joined the Executive Committee and in 1999 became the hospital's Executive Manager with responsibility for medico-legal matters, clinical governance, clinical audit, risk management, customer services and human resources, which included training, development and recruitment. In 1990 she had obtained an MBA and a Diploma in Marketing. She also has qualifications in Risk Management and Claims Handling and became a Fellow of the Institute of Management. She married over 20 years ago and has two sons born in 1992 and 1993 respectively, the younger of whom is on the autistic spectrum.
Holding down a demanding job and bringing up her family would have made substantial demands on her time. There can be little doubt that she was an ambitious and successful career woman, responsible for running staff, well used to dealing with those in authority and highly regarded. The Defence acknowledges, indeed asserts, that she "dealt with men at all levels of authority and experience and of varying cultures and groups with whom (she had) always had extremely good working relationships". Sadly the picture changed dramatically in August 2006 when she had to cease work because of a mental breakdown.
At the time with which I am concerned the Cromwell Hospital was owned by a member of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family and run via the Abu Dhabi Investment Office who operated the hospital by means of the Defendants, a UK registered company. Decisions on policy were made by the Board, who were expected to take into account the requirements of their Arab masters. The day to day operation of the hospital was the responsibility of the Executive Board.
About 10 – 12 years ago changes began to be introduced at the hospital. At that time Dr Hameed was the Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"). In 2001 Dr Al Muhairi was appointed to the Board. He was then appointed as a Senior Physician in Nuclear Medicine, although it appears he did little clinically. In December 2003 he was appointed Deputy CEO to Dr Hameed. In June 2005 it was announced that Dr Hameed was stepping down as CEO and that Dr Al Muhairi would be Acting CEO. Meanwhile in February 2005 Professor Britton, who I was told had been Dr Al Muhairi's professor when he trained at Barts. Hospital, was appointed Chairman of the Board. I was told, and accept that, in particular between 2003 and June 2005, there had been a power struggle between Dr Al Muhairi and Dr Hameed.
To complete the background picture, in December 2006 the hospital was acquired by a joint venture between the Rotary Group Ltd and the Canadian Hospital Network International. Then in March 2008 it was acquired by the BUPA group. Dr Al Muhairi remained Acting CEO until December 2006 and then became President of the hospital until March 2008 when BUPA took over. It appears he retains some links with the hospital via the Defendants, or an associated company, who, I understand, lease the hospital premises to BUPA.
In 2008 the Claimant brought and lost a claim in the Employment Tribunal concerning the Defendants' failure to pay bonuses. The present claim was issued on 20th August 2009 and served in December 2009. There had been no letter of claim and I was told the first the Defendants knew of it was when proceedings were served in December 2009.
Liability
The Claimant's allegations
The substance of the Claimant's case is that her breakdown was caused by harassment and bullying by Dr Al Muhairi. Para 9 of the Particulars of Claim alleges that from April 2003 onwards Dr Al Muhairi
".. adopted an ongoing and continuous course of conduct towards her from which emerges a picture of over-familiarity, innuendo and inappropriate physical contact; use of intemperate and aggressive language; personal and professional humiliation; disrespectful, intimidating, pedantic and undermining behaviour; veiled threats and blackmail. It is apparent that there was much underlying rancour, spite and cruelty."
In support the Claimant relies on some 45 incidents occurring between April 2003 and 23 rd August 2006. Paras 43 – 44 of her witness statement state:
"Taken individually and on their own the various incidents I refer to…may not at first sight seem to be of sufficient gravity to have an impact on an experienced manager such as myself and to be responsible for my eventual breakdown in August 2006 but I believe that when considered together they demonstrate a deliberate intention on Dr Al Muhairi's part to humiliate and demean me or at least a complete disregard as to whether such behaviour was likely to cause me to feel humiliated and demeaned.
I believe that Dr Al Muhairi deliberately set out to destroy me for reasons known only to him."
In evidence the Claimant whilst continuing to rely on incidents which occurred in 2003 and 2004, relied in particular on those occurring from March 2005 onwards down to and including 22 nd August 2006. On 22 nd August 2006 she left an Executive Meeting in a distressed state. The following day she attended her general practitioner who certified her unfit due to work related stress. She has never returned to work but remains employed by the Defendants. During her absence she has received 75% of her salary through the Defendants Private Health Insurance ("PHI") scheme with UNUM. At one stage UNUM decided the Claimant was no longer eligible for such payments but that decision has recently been successfully appealed and payments have now been made down to 31st March 2011. Eligibility thereafter is under consideration at present but in the light of the available medical evidence it is reasonable to conclude that payments will continue for the immediate future.
There is no dispute that her breakdown has manifested itself in mild to severe depression with symptoms of PTSD and that she continues to suffer from psychiatric problems. In the course of giving evidence over 2 1/2 days she broke down frequently and often left court when others were giving evidence.
Dr Hameed became the CEO in 1991. The Claimant had known him when he was a GP. He encouraged her in her career and she said she had a good working relationship with him for virtually all the time he was CEO although he "lost his way" towards the end. But she rejected suggestions that he had been someone in whom she could trust and confide, stating he tended to play people against each other. She also rejected the suggestion that his leadership had been paternalistic as some of the Defendants' witnesses said. She said he started as a visionary but later as the Arab owners began to court him he began to look to his future. She said there was then nobody to trust within the organisation and added "It put me in an incredible difficulty".
Between 2002–2005 she worked with both Dr Hameed and Dr Al Muhairi when the power struggle was going on, which she said the Executive perceived as a struggle to appoint Dr Al Muhairi as the CEO. She said she saw little of Dr Al Muhairi following his appointment to the Board until 2003. Towards the end of 2003 into 2004 he started to confide in her more and she was asked to help him on things he did not understand. She saw more of him especially after he was appointed as Acting CEO in December 2003. She denied that she had backed Dr Al Muhairi in the power struggle. She said her concern had been for the future but she observed that Dr Hameed had been there for a long time and that the Arab owners were saying they would not invest in the hospital if Dr Hameed remained as CEO. She denied that she had worked against Dr Hameed's interests and strongly denied that Dr Hameed had said that she and Mr Anderson, a fellow member of the Executive Committee, had been disloyal to him — "Never, never, never!" She denied that an email she sent to Mr Anderson in early March 2005, when he was on holiday, notifying him of changes on the...
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