Patient's hospital abuse claim rejected by judges

A woman who claims she was mentally and verbally abused by a Berkshire mental health hospital's staff cannot sue the provider that took it over years later, judges have ruled.

The woman said she was restrained on more than 200 occasions at Huntercombe Hospital in Maidenhead over 2018 and 2019.

The failing hospital for young people shut in 2023, having been run by Active Young People Limited (AYPL) from 2021.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, argued former owners The Huntercombe Group and APYL were responsible for her treatment, but her claim was dismissed at the Court of Appeal.

About 50 similar claims relating to the hospital's care are being brought by former patients, with a hearing expected later this year, the court heard.

Judges said when AYPL took over the hospital, it could not have known of its issues.

Initially the woman tried to sue The Huntercombe Group. But the judges said the company was in liquidation and might not be able to pay a £250,000 excess on its policies if claims are successful.

That could "wipe out most of or all of [the woman's] claim for damages," the judges said.

The woman then took the legal action against AYPL, arguing that it too was "vicariously liable for the acts and omissions [of staff]".

Dismissing the woman's appeal on Tuesday, the judges said the woman was not being criticised for bringing the claim.

"[She] has suffered loss and damage for which, through no fault of her own, she may not be able to recover damages," they said.

A 14-year-old girl at the hospital was unlawfully killed when she was left unaccompanied by a staff member on his first shift in February 2022, an inquest jury concluded in August 2025.

Ruth Szymankiewicz, from Salisbury, was being treated for an eating disorder when she was moved to the failing hospital in October 2021.