Prison officer attacked by inmate sues MoJ for £220,000

Prison officer, 49, who says he has been left ‘unemployable’ and forced to still eat through a straw six years after he was attacked by inmate is suing MoJ for £220,000

• Michael Campbell was repeatedly punched in face at HMP Wandsworth in 2014
• He suffered a badly broken jaw and is still on a liquid diet years after the attack
• He said he warned bosses about the prisoner but was still left alone with him
• Government lawyers admit liability but say his £220,000 court claim is too big 

Michael Campbell (pictured), 49, says he has been left ‘unemployed and unemployable’ by trauma and injuries suffered when he was repeatedly punched in the face by a prisoner

A prison officer who is still eating through a straw six years after he was battered by a prisoner with a grudge against him is suing the MoJ for £220,000.

Michael Campbell, 49, says he has been left ‘unemployed and unemployable’ by trauma and injuries suffered when he was repeatedly punched in the face at HMP Wandsworth, in London, in November 2014.

Mr Campbell suffered a badly broken jaw and, years later, is still on a liquid diet as he finds eating to be an ‘ordeal.’

Suing the MoJ at Central London County Court, he said he had warned bosses the prisoner had it in for him, but was still left alone with him.

However, despite admitting liability for the injuries, government lawyers say Mr Campbell’s £220,000 court claim is much too big.

Outlining the case, Mr Campbell’s barrister Adam Samuel told the court the officer was attacked when he unlocked the violent inmate to allow him to join others for a meal.

He had had another run-in with the same prisoner days before the attack, the barrister said.

The inmate – referred to as SD – had spat at Mr Campbell, racially abused him, blamed him for various things that had happened to him, and threatened to kill him.

But despite telling his bosses the prisoner was a danger to him, Mr Campbell was just two days later told to unlock the prisoner to take him for food.

‘As he was following SD to the canteen…he looked up to see if any colleagues were nearby,’ he said.

‘However as he was doing so, SD started swearing at him, before punching him to the right jaw.

‘He continued to beat him about the face until he was restrained, causing him to suffer a serious fracture to the jaw and PTSD.’

Mr Campbell was repeatedly punched in the face at HMP Wandsworth (pictured), in London, in November 2014

The barrister told Judge Simon Freeland QC that the attack had caused Mr Campbell ‘very significant physical and psychological symptoms.’

He had to have two operations to insert and remove a plate, screws and wires from his jaw, he said, and continues to suffer severe pain in his face and jaw.

‘Eating has become an ordeal and he subsists on a mainly liquid diet,’ he continued.

‘He has PTSD. He suffers frequent nightmares, flashbacks and disturbance of sleep.

‘Relationships with others are fraught. He is fearful of strangers and new experiences and is liable to bouts of tearfulness.’

He said the injuries had robbed Mr Campbell of the career he loved, having been medically retired following the attack, and is now ‘unemployed and unemployable.’

‘He has not worked since his injury, has sustained serious consequences in all aspects of his life, and is completely unable to function at anything near his pre-accident level,’ he added.

‘In addition, his psychiatric injury must be seen in the context of a devastating facial fracture and chronic pain which continues to remind him of his terrifying ordeal.’

Mr Samuel said Mr Campbell needs ‘urgent high-quality treatment’ if there is to be any hope of him making further recovery.

For the MoJ, barrister Robert Dickason admitted a breach of its duty, but argued that the compensation payout should instead be about £67,500.

‘The defendant contends that Mr Campbell’s injury fits squarely into the moderately severe bracket, in accordance with the experts’ severity assessments and the prognosis for improvement and a return to employment with treatment,’ he said.

‘The severe bracket envisages permanent, severely debilitating symptoms affecting all aspects of life irrespective of treatment: that is not the case here.’

Judge Freeland reserved his judgment on the claim until a later date.

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