Killer gets massive payout for toothache
Steele, who is serving a life sentence, was awarded over £44,000
London: A notorious triple murderer has won £44,500 (Dh244,477) damages after suing the Home Office for negligent dental care while serving a life sentence.
Michael Steele, one of the "Essex Boys" gangland killers, claimed that being refused proper treatment for a bad tooth had left him in severe pain for years. Last week a senior judge said she could "understand and sympathise" with his complaint and agreed that he should receive the payout.
Critics described the damages as "obscene" and claimed the award was further evidence that the compensation culture had got out of control.
Steele, 66, was jailed in January 1998 with Jack Whomes for shooting dead three drug dealers in a Range Rover on a remote farm track in Rettendon, near Chelmsford.
Soon after arriving at Belmarsh Prison in South-East London, one of his fillings fell out.
He has since suffered "persistent and severe pain" while being shuffled between high security jails, he claimed.
The Category A prisoner, who comes from Great Bentley, Essex, sued the Home Office for damages accusing it of failing to provide proper treatment to alleviate his discomfort.
Representing himself, he argued that the payout was "fair and appropriate compensation" for his suffering.
Lady Justice Smith agreed that the Home Office breached the duty it owed Steele to make "reasonable arrangements" for caring for the killer's teeth. Sitting with Lord Justice Laws and Lord Justice Carnwath in the Court of Appeal, she said: "He said that the pain had kept him awake at night and had caused him stress during the day.
"He submitted that we should take into account that his pain and suffering was aggravated by the fact that he was locked up for much of the day and had nothing to do other than think about his toothache.
"I can understand and sympathise with that submission and I accept that his situation is a factor which can be taken into account in assessing damages."
The damages award will be dwarfed by the public cost of the case, which is likely to run well into six figures.
