		<div class="wpcnt">
			<div class="wpa">
				<span class="wpa-about">Advertisements</span>
				<div class="u top_amp">
							<amp-ad width="300" height="265"
		 type="pubmine"
		 data-siteid="111265417"
		 data-section="2">
		</amp-ad>
				</div>
			</div>
		</div><p><a href="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/exprison-warder-wins-stress-payout.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full" title="Former prison officer Steven Heaven was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder" src="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/min-exprison-warder-wins-stress-payout.jpg" alt="Former prison officer Steven Heaven was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder"/></a></p>
<p>A former prison officer has been awarded a six-figure sum in damages for stress he suffered after listening to sex offenders&#8217; accounts of their crimes, his lawyer has said.</p>
<p>Steven Heaven, 44, claimed the harrowing &#8220;therapeutic community&#8221; sessions, in which sex offenders described their crimes in detailed and graphic terms, disturbed him so much that he was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition often associated with soldiers returning from war.</p>
<p>His case was settled, for an undisclosed six-figure sum, following a three-year legal battle after the prison would not accept that his illness had been caused by his working conditions, said his solicitors Moore Blatch Resolve.</p>
<p>Mr Heaven, of Bridgwater, Somerset, said: &#8220;I knew it would be an extremely difficult case, but I decided I had to fight their decision and make a stand. </p>
<p>&#8220;It was awful having to hear the prisoners&#8217; descriptions and I&#8217;ll never be able to forget what I heard.</p>
<p>&#8220;I feel like a real weight has been lifted from my shoulders, as I have been under a lot of pressure for so long.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll never be able to operate in such a high-pressure environment again, but I finally feel some closure and that I can now positively move on to the next chapter of my life.&#8221;</p>
<p>Mr Heaven&#8217;s problems started when he was required to take part in the therapeutic sessions with sex offenders at HMP Grendon, a category B therapeutic prison in Buckinghamshire, towards the end of his 15 years as a prison officer.</p>
<p>Despite having no experience as a clinician and no qualifications as a therapist, his job required him to listen to the prisoners&#8217; descriptions of their crimes, which were often expressed &#8220;in detailed and graphic terms&#8221;.</p>
<p>His lawyer Ciaran McCabe said: &#8220;It was a complex claim and in winning this case I feel we have achieved a landmark settlement.&#8221;</p>
			<div style="padding-bottom:15px;" class="wordads-tag" data-slot-type="belowpost">
				<div id="atatags-dynamic-belowpost-69e370e1f3448">
					<script type="text/javascript">
						window.getAdSnippetCallback = function () {
							if ( false === ( window.isWatlV1 ?? false ) ) {
								// Use Aditude scripts.
								window.tudeMappings = window.tudeMappings || [];
								window.tudeMappings.push( {
									divId: 'atatags-dynamic-belowpost-69e370e1f3448',
									format: 'belowpost',
								} );
							}
						}

						if ( document.readyState === 'loading' ) {
							document.addEventListener( 'DOMContentLoaded', window.getAdSnippetCallback );
						} else {
							window.getAdSnippetCallback();
						}
					</script>
				</div>
			</div>
Discover more from London Glossy Post
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
