Guard Attacked by Dangerous Prisoner Wins £32,500

A prison guard who was traumatised after he was attacked by an out-of-control prisoner who was well known to be extremely violent has won more than £30,000 in compensation from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

The notorious prisoner, who was serving a life sentence and had spent most of his 40 years behind bars in solitary confinement, had smashed up equipment in the prison gym before a team of officers was sent to contain the situation. The officer, a dog handler, was punched and kicked by the muscle-bound prisoner, suffering head wounds, concussion, and neck and shoulder injuries.

The officer's legal team argued that the prisoner was well known to be a 'loose cannon' and to pose a serious threat to anyone coming into contact with him. The prisoner had broken out of the gym after some members of the containment team had been withdrawn and the officer had not been given sufficient support.

Although he had recovered from most of the physical effects of the incident within six months, he has been left suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, flashbacks, nightmares, panic attacks and agoraphobia.

A judge praised the prison guard's resilience in managing to return to his duties four months after the attack. However, he continues to play over the incident in his mind, and is hyper-vigilant and afraid that he will again be assaulted.

The MoJ admitted liability and was ordered to pay him damages of £32,500.