Sarah Westoby
Senior associate solicitor
Sarah represents individuals in the Court of Protection, families at inquests, clients in claims under the Human Rights Act, and core participants in Public Inquiries.
Sarah is a senior associate solicitor working in the human rights department.
What the directories say
The solicitor that I rate most highly from Leigh Day is Sarah Westoby. She is extremely intelligent and dedicated to her clients.
Legal 500 2024
What our clients say
I wanted to personally thank you for your support and guidance over the last few years. Yours and the wider team’s support and updates have been immeasurably helpful to me, guiding me through the challenges so far.
Legal expertise
Sarah works on a range of areas within the human rights department, focusing on cases involving the care and treatment afforded to vulnerable adults in health and social care settings.
For the past six years, Sarah has worked on the Infected Blood Inquiry representing over 300 core participants.
She also represents clients in best interests and deprivation of liberty cases, acting for clients in proceedings in the Court of Protection on issues including withdrawal of treatment, choice of treatment, residence, contact and care for people who don't have capacity to decide on these issues for themselves. Her clients include children, parents, relatives and the Official Solicitor.
Sarah acts in Human Rights Act damages and negligence claims, including cases which involve emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect, and unlawful deprivations of liberty. Her work includes acting for families in inquest proceedings, frequently raising issues under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and civil claims arising as a result.
Sarah also represents those accused of fabricating and inducing illness (FII), frequently involving families where parents and/or their children have disabilities. Sarah advises on legal routes open to families who have been falsely accused of FII instead of being provided with much needed support.
Cases
- Sarah represented the AIRE Centre in their intervention in the seminal deprivation of liberty case of Cheshire West in the Supreme Court in 2014.
- She frequently represents individuals and their families in proceedings in the Court of Protection. An example of such work is the recent case of DY, a young woman with a moderate learning disability for whom the court has considered capacity issues including residence, care and treatment, contact, sexual relations and contraception. The case has considered the complex issue of how fluctuating capacity applies in the context of sexual relations. Re DY [2021] EWCOP 28 (Knowles J).
- Sarah is currently acting in a damages claim on behalf of an individual where the local authority may have been negligent in failing to remove the individual from the family home to protect them from abuse, and then, once in the care of the local authority, potentially liable for the tortious acts of the foster carers.
Education
Sarah joined the firm in 2007 as a trainee, qualifying in 2009. Sarah worked at Scott-Moncrieff & Associates from 2015 to 2018, when she then returned to Leigh Day.
Accreditations
The Legal 500 notes Sarah as a 'key lawyer'.
What the directories say
Leigh Day has a strong and dedicated Court of Protection team. The firm also has strong expertise across related fields of community care, civil liberties and human rights which ensures that they can meet all of their clients' needs.
Sarah Westoby in the news
- Sarah Westoby was interviewed on BBC News to discuss the infected blood scandal ahead of a Government announcement on compensation https://leighdaylaw.info/40Y8f5K
- Tragic fall: Inquest reveals housing authority failures led to woman’s death Voice 5.12.23
- Balcony fall death sparks coroner criticism of housing provision BBC 24.11.23
- Herefordshire parents to hear about 'fabricated or induced illness' Hereford Times 9.2.23
- Police sued over 'missed chances' to save disabled woman killed by boyfriend Mirror 31.1.21
- GMP being sued by family of woman stabbed to death by boyfriend days after police failed to act on horrendous abuse claims Manchester Evening News 1.2.21
Lawyers at Leigh Day say Infected Blood Inquiry final report is vindication for the 300 clients they represent
Lawyers at Leigh Day, who represent around 300 people impacted by the infected blood scandal, say the findings of the Infected Blood Inquiry’s Report are a vindication of their clients’ fight for justice spanning four decades.
Coroner finds failings by housing authority and housing association caused the death of an epileptic woman who fell from the balcony of her London flat
An inquest into the death of 39-year-old Marwo Kassim, who fell from the balcony of her third floor flat in west London after an epileptic seizure, has found that the failure of the local housing authority and housing association to provide her with safe accommodation was a cause of her death.
Infected blood inquiry lawyers call for immediate payments following delay to final report
Lawyers representing hundreds of people affected by the NHS infected blood scandal have voiced their disappointment at the delay to the report of the Infected Blood Inquiry.
Inquests
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Human rights
If you believe your human rights have been denied our human rights and civil liberties team is one of the leading teams of practitioners in this specialist area in the country.
Court of Protection and best interests
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