Hi! I have just completed my Ph.D. after quite a few years longer that I firstly expected. My Ph.D. experience was very painful. And this was not because of the project itself, but because I had to deal with a bullying supervisor, and the negligence of the University. Senior members of staff are aware of the difficulties I have dealt with, and while they have been very supportive at the moral level, no action has been taken against my supervisor and those supporting his bullying behaviour. I'm trying to take legal action against him and the University, and I was wondering if somebody could recommend a lawyer who have dealt previously with Ph.D. student cases. Thanks.

Pepita,

Seriously, do not waste your money on a lawyer at this point. They might well take a lot of money from you, but all recent court rulings have been to just refer people to this body http://www.oiahe.org.uk/ saying that you need to work through the mediation procedure first. Before the OIAHE will investigate your cae and reccommend a settlement, they insist that you have exhausted the formal complaints procedure at your university, so that if you haven't done that needs to be your first action. Be aware that you are very unlikely to be able to derail the careers of your ex-supervisor and his colleagues, and that your best outcome would be probably an apology from the university and a small amount of compensation. Have a look at the sample cases on the OIAHE site on PhD complaints to get an idea.

as a lawyer.. i would advice you to make a complaint on health grounds. maybe this supervisor's conduct caused you some stress, illness, trauma etc. do you have medical records to show that from your GP and a councellor. if you don't you need to go to a GP, councellor or psychiatrist and whine so that you get a diagnosis as stressed, depressed, or at least a recognised medical condition and make sure you are linking it to your supervisor. ensure that the word supervisor appears somewhere in your records. take a month to recover... even take time off and then make a personal injury claim. you need to also state how your supervisors conduct affected your life - were you able to do normal things, leisure, work etc. did you need care and support because of them? usually for a personal injury claim you need to make it in three years from the date of the incident. and its no won no fee. it costs you nothing.

as the other person said, you are not likely to get very far on academic grounds. but once you mention the word health, the whole legal system is for you.

i once used a health ground against a bullying supervisor and the uni was so afraid they changed my supervision.

all the best.

let me know how you get on because once am done, suing my university for stress and negligence is something am seriously considering.

There is a growing market for HE lawyers, and some firms have now got a niche in this area (one guy's case was raised on this forum so if you search around, you might find a link to his blog, and his lawyer).

Before you go down the legal road though, think very hard about how this make affect your career (eg. references) and are you willing to pay legal fees (eg. there is no legal aid for PI).

I also think you should think long and hard before going down this route. If you now have your PhD, congratulations, that is a major achievement and worth celebrating, however I would put a line under this phase of your life, put and angst down to experience, and move on. The academic world is a small one, and you never know when you may come across someone who knows whoever this supervisor is, and they may have a completely different idea about this person. Universities also know about other universities and they have long memories, industry or other areas of life may have connections with the university, and somewhere along the line they may be seeking collaboration with them, you may harm your own future by taking legal actions. You may even, one day, need to meet this supervisor in different circumstances, you never know how life will turn out. Anyway 'bullying' is hard to define, usually one person's word against another. Let it go, it could well be a hollow victory even if you manage to get the result you want,(do you know what you want to be the outcome, and if you could in reality, expect this to be the result?) and may well damage you far more than this other person in the long run.

Hi Pepita

Congratulations on finishing your PhD

If you think you have a case against your supervisor and others at the university, I advise you to pursue it. However, you will probably only get anywhere should you have hard evidence of bullying e.g. email transcripts and suchlike. If it comes down to your word against someone else's I don't think your likely to get very far, especially given the amount of arse covering that goes on in academia. On the other hand, if you have solid evidence, sue the hind legs of them!, I'm sure you won't have been their only victim.

I support Joyce 100%. Take the high road and work on building your academic future without all this anger you may be carrying for your supervisor and your university.

======= Date Modified 03 Nov 2009 10:27:55 =======
============= Edited by a Moderator =============
--inappropriate content--

======= Date Modified 03 Nov 2009 10:26:22 =======
============= Edited by a Moderator =============
--inappropriate content--

Hi Pepita, I know how you feel as I too had supervisors who gave me a hard time and made a lot of personal and hurtful comments. If I was to repeat them I'm sure a lot of people would be really shocked. Taking legal action has certainly crossed my mind -- at times it has even occupied my mind. However, I really agree with Joyce. Pursuing this is just going to create enemies and more ill-feeling, and that's no good way to bring closure to this. To forgive and forget is a much sweeter thing. You got your PhD in the end so put a line under it and move on with your life.

People in positions of authority often are egotistical bullies and it's just something we have to live with.