Burglar wins £5.5m compensation for prison canteen stabbing that left him fearful of kitchens

A convicted burglar who suffered “life-changing” injuries and now suffers from a kitchen phobia following a stabbing in a prison canteen has been awarded over £5 million in damages.

Steven Wilson, 36, sued the Ministry of Justice after he was repeatedly struck with a 23-centimetre-long knife by a fellow inmate while doing kitchen work at HMP Chelmsford in Essex in July 2018.

He suffered a ruptured liver, a fractured spine and a spinal cord injury and has suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and physical injuries ever since.

A risk assessment of Mr Wilson's attacker, who was serving a life sentence for murder, said it was “unknown” whether he could be left unsupervised. However, he was assigned to work in the kitchen and had access to knives.

The Justice Department admitted liability for the incident but disputed the amount of Mr. Wilson's claim for damages.

Judge Melissa Clarke

In a judgment on Friday, Judge Melissa Clarke awarded Mr Wilson £5,404,559.05 in damages.

In a written judgment, she stated: “There is no doubt that Mr Wilson's life has been radically and permanently affected by the physical and psychological injuries caused by that horrific attack in the prison kitchen.”

“I hope that despite his challenges, he is able to fully embrace all the therapies that I believe he needs so that his life can be as fulfilling and active as possible.”

In the 112-page ruling, the judge stated that Wilson suffered, among other things, lacerations to his liver and stomach, penetrating wounds to his abdomen and chest, and an incomplete spinal cord injury.

The judge said that due to his injuries, Mr Wilson required a self-propelled wheelchair as well as “a walking stick and a walker to get around, depending on the level of his pain and fatigue”.

Judge Clarke said that during the trial in April, Mr Wilson described how he had “felt very vulnerable in prison” following the incident and was “fearful of being attacked again and this time not being able to protect himself or get himself out of trouble because of his limited mobility”.

At the time of the stabbing, Mr Wilson was in custody for aggravated burglary.

He was later sentenced to nine years in prison, which was reduced to six and a half years due to his injuries. He was released in June 2021.

Judge Clarke said the Department of Justice had “very quickly accepted liability” for the attack, but there had been disagreements about Wilson's condition and the type of treatment he would require, as well as the impact on his future loss of earnings.

In challenging Mr Wilson's claim for damages, the Ministry of Justice highlighted that he had a criminal record of more than 31 convictions and 22 cautions between 1999 and 2018.

Judge Clarke told the court that the prison's risk assessment of Mr Wilson's attacker's work/activity showed that the questions 'Trustworthy enough to be left unsupervised?' and 'Temperament to work safely without disturbing others?' were answered 'unknown'.

The judge added: “Nevertheless, the defendant had employed him to carry out work in the prison where he had access to knives at all times.”

The judge said Mr Wilson was flown by air ambulance to the Royal London Hospital and, following emergency surgery, was placed in an induced coma in intensive care for nine days.

He remained in hospital for seven weeks until he was discharged to a specialized rehabilitation unit

The judge said the medical evidence at the trial had described how, at the age of 60, Mr Wilson was “likely to require round-the-clock care and the constant use of a wheelchair for indoor and outdoor movement, with difficulty in transferring and assistance with personal hygiene and probably also with night-time skin care”.

The damages awarded by Judge Clarke included compensation of over £2.4 million to support Mr Wilson's future care needs.