A convicted burglar left phobic of kitchens after being stabbed 16 times while working in a prison canteen has been handed a massive £5.5m payout after suing the Ministry of Justice.
Government lawyers had argued that because thief Steven Wilson, 36, had “hardly any history” of earning an honest penny in his life, a multi-million pound payout would be “in line with what society would perceive as reasonable.”
Wilson suffered injuries including a lacerated liver, a fractured spine and a lacerated spinal cord when convicted murderer Patrick Chandler attacked him “out of the blue” in July 2018 with a nine-inch knife while they were both working in kitchen at HMP Chelmsford.
He later sued, claiming that the MoJ failed to properly assess whether life-threatening Chandler was safe for kitchen work, given the opportunity to access knives and sharp items.
The MoJ admitted responsibility for the attack and agreed that Wilson was due compensation, but argued that because he had a 20-year criminal record with “close to no history” of having earned an honest penny, he should not not get the £5 million. – plus the damages he claimed.
At the time of the attack, Wilson was in prison for aggravated robbery, for which he was later sentenced to six and a half years in prison.
Wilson was stabbed in the stomach with such force that it lifted him off the ground, but he survived with a series of serious injuries.
Wilson suffered injuries including a lacerated liver, a fractured spine and lacerated spinal cord when convicted murderer Patrick Chandler (above) attacked him “out of the blue”.
But at the High Court this morning, Judge Melissa Clarke awarded Wilson a compensation payment of just under £5.5 million, while also ordering the government to pay his lawyers’ bill of £546,000.
Wilson, of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, was in prison for aggravated robbery – for which he was later convicted – when he was attacked by Chandler.
At the time, her attacker was just 24 days into a life sentence, imposed for the brutal knife murder of John Comer, 45, in Lawford, Essex, in December 2017.
The “fit and fearless” former Wilson recalled that Chandler “looked at him strangely” before attacking him, as if he was “looking right through him”.
She was stabbed in the stomach with such force that it lifted her off the ground, but she survived with a series of serious injuries and was left in a wheelchair.
Chandler later admitted to trying to murder Wilson and received an additional life sentence and a minimum term of 10 years in November 2018.
Chandler’s overall risk rating had been assessed by the MoJ as ‘medium’, court documents revealed, despite two weeks before the attack he had told his supervisor that he ‘fantasized about violence and what he had to do to people and to make weapons.
Wilson’s barrister, Giles Mooney KC, told the judge that once off the operating table, he was treated in hospital for more than two months and had to use a wheelchair.
He now needs a cane to walk, is in chronic pain and cannot work because of the legacy of his attack.
Giving evidence, Wilson told the judge: “I walked in a perfectly fit young man and he walked out in a wheelchair.”
Steven Wilson (pictured holding an umbrella) has been left wheelchair-bound and ‘unable to work’ after being stabbed 16 times while working in a prison canteen.
John Comer, 46, died in hospital after being stabbed in the chest and stomach by Chandler in Lawford, Essex, in December 2017.
Wilson was attacked “out of the blue” in July 2018 with a nine-inch knife while they were both working in the kitchen at HMP Chelmsford.
He said he is still haunted by the attack, has a deep horror of knives and now tries to avoid going into the kitchen at all times.
“When I see the knives I feel cold,” he said from the witness box. “You don’t understand how cold I get when I see a knife.
“I can’t be in a kitchen or around knives because it reminds me of the attack.”
His ordeal also triggered flashbacks, PTSD and nightmares, he said, telling the court: “When I came out, I kept seeing this man.
“I knew he was behind bars but I kept seeing him, I had dreams of him chasing me and I would wake up in a pool of sweat.”
During the trial of the case, MoJ lawyer Richard Wheeler KC told the judge: “While the defendant accepts that the claimant should be compensated for his injuries, that compensation must be fair, reasonable and just.” adding that Wilson had a long criminal record. including offenses involving criminal damage, theft, driving, breaching community orders and violence.
Although he had claimed at one point that he earned £800 a week before going to prison, he had produced “no evidence” of how he did this, the barrister said.
“The defendant argues that the plaintiff’s record is relevant to the assessment of damages and to the balance to be struck between obtaining fair compensation for the plaintiff, while obtaining a result that is not in contradiction with what society would perceive as reasonable, given the origin and way of life of the claimant before the assault.
The MoJ argued that Wilson had made improvements in his condition since the attack and so did not require the level of care going forward that it claimed.
Mooney, however, insisted that the Justice Department had “severely understated” the claim and that he deserves the payment he is seeking.
“It is fully accepted that Mr Wilson had a somewhat troubled and criminal past prior to the attack on him,” he told the judge.
“However, the attack left him with very serious injuries. He requires extensive care, therapy and accommodation.
Sentencing this morning, Judge Clarke said some of the experts presented by the Government’s Legal Department had strayed during the trial from an initial fair and independent approach to Mr Wilson’s case.
One expert was criticized for “cherry-picking” excerpts from video surveillance evidence, while another had “lost sight that his first duty was to the court and was actively trying to persuade the court to make an award more minimal,” the judge said. .
“I asked if there should be some introspection by the Government Legal Department on this and if the experts were asked to move away from a more partisan and unfair analysis,” he said.
“I understand that there has now been such an introspection by the Government’s Legal Department and I will say no more.”
She went on to award a compensation payment of just under £5.5 million, with Wilson’s legal bill of £546,030.99 on top.
The judge ordered the government to pay £400,000 upfront towards the legal costs bill.