Outrageous discrimination treatment by NHS Trust results in record £4.5 million award

A hospital consultant who suffered  a personality change due to post traumatic stress has received a record award based on sex discrimination (although she also succeeded with other claims including unfair dismissal).

The award is almost completely based on projected future loss of earnings, which is the primary factor in almost all large payouts under English law which is largely against high awards for general damages for injury to feelings or penalty damages.

This case was between Dr Eva Michalak, who was a consultant at Pontefract General Infirmary, the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS trust and 3 senior staff members.

The tribunal described the behavior of the defendants as outrageous, comprising a concerted campaign to undermine and discredit Dr Michalak after her return from pregnancy leave and an initial claim she had raised internally for sex discrimination.

As with all cases of this type, the claim required expert evidence on the claimant’s long term health prospects and ability to work generally or in the field she had been working in. In this case, the expert, Professor Hirsch, gave evidence that the Dr Michalak’s condition was in his view directly caused by her treatment by the Trust and that it was a long term condition.

The award in this case is also unusual in that individual employees of the Trust were found liable, being the trust’s medical director, a consultant physician and the human resources manager. It is unlikely these individuals will in reality end up paying the damages.