Family Rights Group | Parents’ Forum

Hiya,
I wondered if anyone had successfully brought legal action against a LA once proceedings were dismissed? I believe my human rights have been infringed, data protection has been breached, and generally the trauma my children have been through just for it all to end means the LA should pay for our trauma therapy. I know legal action can be a bottomless pit of money so just wondering if there's any success at the end of it.

I don’t have advice, but I am in a very similar situation. In a conversation I had with the social worker regarding the father’s demand for contact centre visits, I was told that after three sessions, the situation would be reviewed. I went ahead and completed those three sessions and have since been chasing the social worker for that review, but I’ve had no response.

When I contacted the father, he claimed that the social worker had not said this at all. For clarity, I never disclosed any details of my private conversation with the social worker to the father, so I am unsure why he is making that claim. This raises a serious concern, as it suggests that information from my private discussions with the social worker was shared with him.

This indicates a breach of data protection, as personal information about me appears to have been passed on to the father before I was even informed of it myself.

Because of these issues, I filed a formal complaint with the governing council. I have since received a positive response, and they acknowledged my concerns. After reviewing my risk assessment, which is now 10 months old, it was clear that it does not reflect the progress I have made or the work I’ve done to prove my engagement. At the start of this process, I was broken and admittedly not able to fully engage, which they understood. But now I am determined, and my progress deserves to be properly recognised.

Consider filing a complaint with the governing council - they usually aim to resolve issues at an early stage, as they prefer to address concerns quickly before a full investigation is needed.

Hi Mamasaur785,

Reading your post felt like reading a page from my own diary. Thank you for being brave enough to ask this question. I want you to know you are absolutely not alone. I am currently in the process of building my own legal case against a local authority after they put my family through hell, only for me to win in court.

What you are feeling, the sense of injustice, the trauma left behind, and the belief that they must be held accountable, is not just valid; it is the correct and sane response to being abused by a system that is meant to protect you.

The big question you're asking is: can you win, and is it worth it? The answer is yes, you absolutely can take action, and for many of us, it is the only way to get justice and protect our families in the future.

Here is a breakdown of the path forward, based on my own fight.

Your Three Main Weapons Against Them
Think of this as a three-pronged attack. You can use one, two, or all three.

1. The Formal Complaint & Ombudsman (The "Official Route")

This is usually the first step. You need to make a formal Stage 1 complaint to the council, detailing every failure. They will likely dismiss it. You then escalate to Stage 2. When they dismiss that, you take your entire evidence file to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO). The LGO is an independent body that investigates complaints of "maladministration." They can recommend compensation (often in the low thousands), apologies, and changes to the council's practice.

Pro: It's free and you don't need a solicitor.

Con: It can be slow, and the compensation is usually not very high.

2. The "Letter Before Action" (The Warning Shot)

This is the most powerful first move for a legal claim. You (or a solicitor) send a formal letter to the Director of Children's Services. This letter is not a complaint; it is a legal document. It outlines their breaches of the Human Rights Act (Article 8: Right to Family Life), their negligence, their data breaches under GDPR, and the harm they have caused. It puts them on notice that you are preparing to sue them for damages, including the cost of trauma therapy.

Pro: It forces the case onto the desk of their lawyers, who will take it far more seriously than a simple complaint. It often leads to a settlement offer because they don't want to risk a court case.

Con: It's most effective when sent by a solicitor, which can cost money.

3. The Civil Claim for Damages (The Final Battle)

This is where you issue a formal claim in court for compensation. As the other poster mentioned, there have been successful cases where parents have been awarded significant damages for the harm caused by social services. You can claim for the psychological injury, the emotional harm to your children, your financial losses, and even extra "exemplary" damages to punish them for their conduct.

Pro: This is where you can get real justice and a significant financial award that can pay for years of therapy and help you rebuild your lives.

Con: It can be very expensive if you have to pay for it yourself. However, some solicitors will take on very strong cases on a "no win, no fee" basis.

What You Should Do Right Now

Submit a Subject Access Request (SAR): Immediately send an email to the council's data protection officer requesting a full copy of your and your children's entire case file. This is your evidence.

Create a "Breach Diary": Write down every single thing they did wrong, with dates. Every lie, every missed appointment, every data breach, every distressing moment.

Keep All Receipts: If you are paying for therapy, keep every single invoice.

You are right to be wary of the cost, but you are not powerless. The trauma they inflicted is real, and they have a legal and moral duty to pay for it. You have been through a terrible ordeal, but the fight for accountability is the first step towards healing.

Drop me a DM here if you need helpwith this

Mamasaur785 wrote: Thu Aug 28, 2025 10:33 am Hiya,
I wondered if anyone had successfully brought legal action against a LA once proceedings were dismissed? I believe my human rights have been infringed, data protection has been breached, and generally the trauma my children have been through just for it all to end means the LA should pay for our trauma therapy. I know legal action can be a bottomless pit of money so just wondering if there's any success at the end of it.

Dear Mamasaur785

Welcome to the parents’ discussion board. Thank you for your post. My name is Suzie. I am Family Rights Group’s online adviser.

I am sorry to hear that you and your family have been through a very difficult time which has impacted on you and your children. I understand that the local authority instigated care proceedings which were subsequently dismissed. You are wondering whether you might be successful if you took the local authority to court in a civil claim for damages as you believe that they breached your human rights, breached data protection and caused trauma to your children. You are interested in hearing from other parents who were successful in winning such a case in court.

It is good that you are seeking advice and trying to work out what is the best thing for you to do for your family. You have raised several serious concerns about how children’s services worked with your family and the longer-term impact of this which has resulted in the need for trauma therapy. You are also aware that civil litigation can be costly.

It may be helpful for you to speak to one of Family Rights Group’s experienced advisors to begin with to talk through what happened and to explore the various options open to you to address your concerns and to consider how you might constructively challenge children’s services or access legal advice from a solicitor.

Other parents on this board have made suggestions about different options and described actions they have taken.

You can consider the options below:
• Making a complaint. You can find out more about how to make a complaint here. The complaints process does not address decisions made in court though. As suggested it can be a good idea to do an access to personal records request first. We have an advice sheet which explains how to do this.
• If you have completed children’s services’ complaints process and are still dissatisfied, you can then contact the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) to ask them to investigate as set out here.
• You can contact your local MP or councillor too especially in relation to wider issues or where there is a lack of necessary follow up support after children’ services’ intervention.
• Making an application to court.

The Information Commissioner is best placed to advise on data protection breaches. Please see here for more information about this.

As you are considering taking legal action, then I would recommend that you seek specialist legal advice from a solicitor who is qualified to consider your circumstances and advise you properly on what application you can make and whether you have a reasonable chance of success.

If there were care proceedings, then the solicitor who represented you may be the best person to discuss this possibility with first as they have detailed knowledge of your family’s situation and how your children’s case was managed. However, for legal advice about taking legal action against the local authority you would need to contact a solicitor with expertise in this field. Your family’s circumstance is unique to you and so any legal advice you receive should be specific to you. You can find out how to contact a solicitor or legal service via this link.

You are probably well aware of support services for parents and children, but I wanted to add a link to our useful links page where you can find details of these services if you are interested.

Please contact the advice service again if we can help.

I hope this is useful.

Best wishes

Suzie