Carer sentenced for ill-treatment of Ben King

Back in July 2021, Fosters Solicitors represented the mother of Ben King at the inquest into his death at Cawston Park Hospital in 2020.

The 32-year-old had been under the care of the private hospital for two years, with both this inquest and a subsequent report into the events surrounding Ben’s death and that of two other patients, Nicholas Briant and Joanna Bailey, finding serious failures concerning the standard of care they received at the Norfolk facility. Cawston Hospital closed in May 2021.

With regards to Ben’s case, a police investigation in connection to his care continued and has now resulted in one of the carers employed at the hospital being sentenced to nine-months’ imprisonment for his mistreatment of Ben.

Although the assault was not linked to Ben’s cause of death, CCTV footage was found during the investigation of Dami Tobi Ayan ‘man-handling’ and hitting him round the head. Mr Ayan from Norwich, admitted the offence of ill treatment or wilful neglect of a person lacking mental capacity against Ben King at Cawston Hospital in July 2020.

Commenting on the news, David Gabell, Head of Medical Negligence & Inquests at Fosters Solicitors said: “This latest development again highlights the substandard care that Ben King and other patients were experiencing at Cawston Park Hospital.

“These were vulnerable people who deserved respect. Throughout the inquest process, Ben’s family had to witness some harrowing evidence showing Ben being mistreated by the people they had trusted to look after him. We therefore hope that this latest news gives them some comfort in their pursuit for justice for Ben.”

Fosters Solicitors has considerable experience in representing families at inquests across the country. If you have lost a loved one and would like to discuss the possibility of representation and how our team can help support your family – please contact us for a no-obligation chat on 01603 620508, or by email. More information is also available on our Inquests page.