Damages claim is filed on behalf of woman who worked in the film industry and is expected to exceed £300,000

The first civil claim against Harvey Weinstein in England and Wales has been lodged by lawyers representing a woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by the disgraced Hollywood producer.

The woman, who worked in the film industry and who wishes to remain anonymous, is represented by a prominent London lawyer, Jill Greenfield, who has previously won significant damages for a client in a civil rape claim.

Greenfield, who specialises in personal injury, expects the claim to escalate into a group action as Weinstein is facing multiple sexual assault accusations from women on both sides of the Atlantic. He denies any allegations of non-consensual sex.

The claim has been made against Weinstein, the Weinstein Company UK Ltd and the Weinstein Company LLC in the US at the high court and is listed as damages for personal injury, expenses, consequential loss including aggravated and exemplary damages and interest arising out of a series of sexual assaults inflicted on the claimant by the defendant.

It also includes a claim against the UK and US companies as liable as employers of the defendant. The claim is expected to exceed £300,000.

Greenfield, who was instructed by her client less than a month ago, said she had had to act swiftly to protect her client’s ability to bring a claim so many years after the assault. She previously revealed her intention to lodge the claim in an interview with the Guardian.

Scotland Yard has said it is investigating allegations made last month by seven women against Weinstein, some dating back to the 1980s.

The woman in the latest claim has not yet made a complaint to the police but is expected to do so. She is said to remain traumatised by the attacks, which allegedly took place after 2000, and has not discussed them with her family.

In criminal courts, the prosecution has to prove the charges of sexual assault or any other offence to the standard of beyond all reasonable doubt. In civil cases, it is a matter of proving it on the balance of probabilities.

A spokesperson for Weinstein in the US told the Guardian: “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr Weinstein. Mr Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances.

“Mr Weinstein obviously can’t speak to anonymous allegations, but with respect to any women who have made allegations on the record, Mr Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual.”