WBE -v- Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (anonymity order)

High CourtKing's Bench DivisionAnonymity Order

Claim number: QB-2021-004483

In the High Court of Justice
King’s Bench Division
Clinical Negligence

18 December 2023

Before:

His Honour Judge Parfitt

Between;

WBE (A Protected Party proceeding by her Litigation Friend HGW)

-v-

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Order

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:-

WHEREAS, pursuant to CPR r. 39.2(4), the Court is satisfied that an order in the terms below for non-disclosure of the identity of the Claimant is necessary to protect the interests of the Claimant and there is no sufficient countervailing public interest in disclosure

AND UPON consideration of the Claimant’s Article 8 right to respect for private and family life and the Article 10 right to freedom of expression

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED PURSUANT to section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, Section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998, Rules 5.4A to 5.4D of the Civil Procedure Rules and Rule 39.2 of the Civil Procedure Rules;

  1. The identity of the Claimant and Litigation Friend not be disclosed.
  2. The Claimant and Litigation Friend be described in all statements of case and other documents to be filed or served in the proceedings and in any judgment or order in the proceedings and in any report of the proceedings by the press or otherwise as “WBE”, and “HGW” respectively.
  3. The address of the Claimant and Litigation Friend be stated in all statements of case and other documents to be filed or served in the proceedings as the address of the Claimant’s solicitors.
  4. In so far as necessary, any statement of case or other document disclosing the name or address of the Claimant and Litigation Friend already filed in the proceedings be replaced by a document describing such name or address in anonymised form as above.
  5. So far as the Claim Form, or any judgment or order, or any other document to which anyone might have access pursuant to CPR Rule 5.4 at any time does not comply with the above, the Claimant’s solicitors have leave to file with the Court copies of such document adjusted so as to comply therein. Such copies are to be treated for all purposes as being in substitution for the relevant original and the original of any such document disclosing the name or address of the Claimant or Litigation Friend is to be placed on the Court file marked confidential ”not to be opened without the permission of a Judge, Master or District Judge of the King’s Bench Division”.
  6. A non-party may not, without the permission of a Master or District Judge, inspect or obtain any copy statement of case or document from the court file unless it has been anonymised in accordance with this direction and there has been redacted any information which might identify the Claimant or Litigation Friend. Any application for such permission (i.e. to inspect or obtain a non-anonymised version) must be made on notice to the Claimant and in accordance with CPR r. 5.4C (6) and the Court will affect service. The file is to be retained by the Court and marked “Anonymised”.
  7. Provided that the parties and/or their advisors and/or the NHSR do not publish any documents containing references to those mentioned in paragraph 2 above by name, the parties are at liberty to retain their files in this case without alteration or substitution and to retain and generate documentation which identifies those people for the purposes of their continuing professional rights and obligations under the main settlement order and paragraph 1 shall not apply in those respects.
  8. Reporting restrictions apply as to the disclosing of any information that may lead to the subsequent identification of the Claimant or Litigation Friend. The publication of the name and address of the Claimant or Litigation Friend or of any member of their immediate family is prohibited.
  9. Any non-party affected by this Order may apply on notice to all parties to have this Order set aside or varied.
  10. A copy of this order shall be published on the website of the Judiciary of England and Wales (which may be found at www.judiciary.uk) pursuant to the provisions of CPR r.39.2 and in that copy the Claimant shall be referred to as “WBE” and the Litigation Friend as “HGW”.
  11. Costs in the case.