Randy Ingram had to retire from his job, aged just 39, three years ago after he was subject to violent and abusive behaviour - including a shooting incident - by tenants of a travellers' site.
Ingram, the third warden on the site to suffer from a stress- related illness, spent two periods in hospital and still need medication and painkillers.
In 1998 Worcester county council carried out an inquiry which was critical of the way the situation had been managed, and this week settled the case out of court.
"The council have a lot to answer for, they have made me very ill with stress and depression and my home life has suffered as a result," he said. "The council's admission of guilt shows how badly they have treated me."
He added: "I wish I could say that I will be better by tomorrow but that is just not going to happen."
The settlement comes after recent government figures rated housing officers as a "high risk profession" (Housing Today, 11 November).
But the public sector union Unison and the Employers Organisation, which represents councils, insisted Ingram's case was an "extreme example" and that good employers had nothing to fear from the settlement.
Last year Unison fought for housing officer Beverley Lancaster who won £67,000 in damages from Birmingham city council (Housing Today, 1 July).
Deputy general secretary Dave Prentis said: "They know that if they carry out risk assessments, take complaints about difficult work situations seriously and give them proper back-up these problems can be avoided."
Employers Organisation head of employment relations unit Tracey Connage said: "Each case has its own individual circumstances. This out of court settlement sets no legal precedent and as such we do not see it contributing to a boom in the compensation culture."
Source
Housing Today
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