A GIRL of nine can sue Kirklees Council after allegations of child abuse were proved to be wrong.

The girl's father and older brother were forced to sleep away from the family home after social workers were called in.

But the girl was later found to be suffering from a rare medical condition which a paediatrician mistakenly thought could be evidence of abuse.

Court of Appeal judges ruled yesterday that the girl can now take action against the council and against Dewsbury Health Care NHS Trust.

It was one of three test cases heard at the court and may now be followed by many more.

Kirklees Council could face action in at least two similar cases after the judges' ruling.

Health authorities cannot be sued by parents who have been wrongly accused of abusing their children, the Court of Appeal ruled.

But children can take action if they are victims of negligence over investigation of abuse or in care proceedings.

The important decision came after three senior judges headed by the Master of the Rolls, Lord Phillips, heard three test cases involving accusations by health professionals against a parent of abuse of a child.

In each case the accusations proved to be unfounded and the parents claimed damages for psychiatric harm said to have been caused to them by the consequences of the false allegations.

The judges dismissed the appeals by the parents, but allowed the appeal by a child who was nine at the time she was taken into care after a wrongful diagnosis of sexual abuse by her father.

Lord Phillips said the court had reached the conclusion that it was no longer legitimate to rule there was no duty of care owed to a child over child abuse investigations or care proceedings.

But he said the position of the parents was "very different".

"We consider that there are cogent reasons of public policy for concluding that, where child care decisions are being taken, no common law duty of care should be owed to the parents."

The judges ordered anonymity for the individuals concerned but allowed the naming of the health authorities.

In the case against Dewsbury Health Care NHS Trust and Kirklees Council, a father and daughter claimed for psychiatric injury and financial loss resulting from unfounded allegations that the father might have sexually abused his daughter, which led to the father being denied access to his daughter.

The daughter suffered from a condition known as Schamberg's disease, which produces discoloured patches on the skin.

When the girl hurt herself on her bicycle when she was nine, a consultant paediatrician said the marks were suggestive of sexual abuse.

The father and girl's eldest brother were told not to sleep in the same house as the girl. Both parents were prevented from seeing her in hospital.

When the diagnosis of Schamberg's disease was made, no further steps were taken by the council's social services who accepted there had been no abuse.

The appeal court ruled that the child could claim against the local authority for negligence in the way their employees contributed to the child protection investigation.

She has already been given the go-ahead to take action against the health authority by a county court judge.

A Kirklees spokesman said: "While we are aware of the judgement, we are not able to give a response until we have studied the findings in detail."