Facts: Ms Peters was very severely disabled from birth, as a result of the negligence of her doctors. The question arose as to whether the amount of damages should be reduced to reflect Nottingham’s statutory responsibility to provide Ms Peters with residential accommodation and care.

Judgment: the Court of Appeal (Sir Anthony Clarke MR, May and Dyson LJJ) held that whilst Nottingham was required to disregard all personal injury damages in determining whether it was under a statutory duty, there was no reason why Ms Peters should not recover fully for the cost of private accommodation and care, providing there was no risk of double recovery: that risk could be averted by requiring Ms Peters’s deputy to give an undertaking restricting her ability to apply for public assistance.