In July 2012, the Court of Appeal ruled that a social worker, who was stabbed by a psychiatric patient whose child she was responsible for, had the right to sue two health authorities responsible for her attacker’s care. Claire Selwood was stabbed six times by her attacker after he confronted her during a professional conference at his child’s school in County Durham. Just two days earlier he had told medical staff at Cherry Knowle Hospital in Sunderland that he would kill her on the spot if he saw her — the last of a number of threats that were not acted upon. Selwood suffered life-threatening injuries and was profoundly traumatised by the ordeal.