A British couple who claim to have adopted a boy who made their life hell are suing their local authority for failing to reveal the child was ”uncontrollable and vicious”, their lawyer said on Thursday.
The couple accuse Essex County Council in southeast England of negligence in failing to disclose reports which predicted the boy’s appalling behaviour would be ”beyond their wildest imagination”. It is believed to be the first case for ”wrongful adoption” to be launched in England.
A High Court judge in London heard that, in the words of his adoptive father, the boy’s behaviour went ”off the Richter scale”. The wife said in a statement that at a birthday party in 1999, the boy tried to kill her husband with a carving knife. He was just eight years old at the time.
When the wife became pregnant, the boy threatened several times to kill the unborn child, and attacked her during a Greek island holiday, putting her in hospital for several days. He regularly damaged the couple’s home, flooding the bathroom, smashing the conservatory with a spade, and tipping paint over carpets and walls, the court heard.
The boy, who was five years old when he was placed with the couple in 1996, was later diagnosed as suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Lawyer Gavin Millar, representing for the couple, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court that they were seeking damages for depression caused by their isolation from friends and relatives through having the boy in their home.
The couple also claim loss of earnings resulting from the child’s need for constant supervision, and the cost of damage to their home. The High Court is to decide whether Essex County Council, which denies negligence, is liable. The case is expected to last until Friday. – Sapa-AFP