A £6,500 settlement has been secured for a Prison Officers Association (POA) member who was attacked by a prisoner.

“The support from the POA and Thompsons Solicitors took a lot of that stress off me as I was recovering from my injuries.”

Thompsons’ trade union client

The Nottinghamshire man had entered a prisoner’s cell at HMP Ranby to collect a dinner plate and cutlery when, suddenly and without warning, the prisoner punched him in the face. He was treated at hospital for injuries to his jaw and shoulder, and he developed post-concussion syndrome.

The prisoner was known to be violent, however, the prison officer was not aware of this prior to entering his cell. 

The member had physiotherapy for a year after the incident and his injuries made working and simple tasks, such as getting dressed, difficult. 

He turned to the POA and instructed Thompsons Solicitors to start the personal injury claims process.

“My injury has proven to me just how important it is to be a part of a union,” he said. “Without its help I wouldn’t have known how to even begin to make a compensation claim. 

“I moved to an administrative role in the prison after my accident. When my injuries healed I was nervous about returning to my old job and worried I might suffer a similar attack again. The support from the POA and Thompsons Solicitors took a lot of that stress off me as I was recovering from my injuries.” 

Thompsons Solicitors has proudly supported the trade union movement for more than 90 years, and will continue to fight for the rights of those, like the POA member, who have suffered because of employers’ failures.

Angela Staples of Thompsons Solicitors

Steve Gillan, general secretary of the POA, said: “The POA represents more than 35,000 people in the UK and we see far too many cases where prison officers suffer painful injuries because of attacks at the hands of violent inmates. 

While this is a risk that all prison officers understand they are exposed to, safeguards should always be in place to limit this risk and, so far as possible, avoid incidents like this. 

“We are glad that a successful resolution could be agreed, which means our member had the finances to pay for physiotherapy he needed.” 

Angela Staples, of Thompsons Solicitors, added: “Thompsons Solicitors has proudly supported the trade union movement for more than 90 years, and will continue to fight for the rights of those, like the POA member, who have suffered because of employers’ failures. We hope that HMP Ranby has learnt from its mistakes and will ensure adequate safeguards are in place so staff know who they are dealing with.”