For decades, our client carried the weight of something that was never his fault. As a boy, he was sexually abused by the person a school had trusted to teach and protect him.
He is one of many Australians who lived for years with the harm of historical institutional abuse before feeling able to speak about it. When he did, he wanted two things: to be believed, and for the organisations responsible to be held to account.
This is how we helped him achieve both, without the ordeal of a full trial.
Background to the historical institutional abuse case
Our client was eight years old* when the abuse began. He attended a primary school in NSW, where his classroom teacher was placed in a position of complete authority over him.
That teacher repeatedly abused our client inside the classroom. The conduct happened in plain sight of a room full of other students. This made the experience all the more frightening and humiliating.
Like many sexual abuse survivors, our client did not disclose what had happened for a very long time. However, the effects stayed with him well into adulthood, including lasting anxiety in social situations and real difficulties in his personal and intimate relationships. He came to our firm to file a civil suit.
The claim we brought
We commenced civil proceedings in the District Court of New South Wales on our client’s behalf. The claim was for personal injury damages arising from assault, battery, false imprisonment and negligence.
Importantly, the claim was not brought against the individual teacher alone.
Instead, we pursued the organisations that had run the school. We claimed they were both vicariously liable for the teacher’s conduct and in breach of the non-delegable duty of care they owed to keep a child in their charge safe.
Our approach to historical institutional abuse cases
The strength of this case lay in how the claim was framed. We built it on two independent legal foundations, so that our client’s right to compensation did not depend on the abuser being alive to answer for what he did.
We set out, in detail, how the institutions had placed the teacher in a position of trust and authority. We also delved into how their systems had failed to protect the children in their care. That evidence of institutional failure sat at the heart of the negligence claim.
We also pursued aggravated and exemplary damages, reflecting how serious the conduct was given the profound betrayal of a child’s safety in a place that was meant to represent safety itself.
Throughout the case, our priority was to resolve the matter in a way that recognised our client’s experience without forcing him to relive it in a public courtroom. Our experienced civil solicitors negotiated firmly toward a settlement that delivered both accountability and acknowledgement.
Why the institution was liable, not just the abuser
An organisation can be held legally responsible for abuse committed by someone it employed or placed in a position of trust. This can arise through vicarious liability, or through a breach of the organisation’s own duty of care. It is why survivors can still pursue justice even when the individual abuser has died.
The outcome of historical institutional abuse case
The matter resolved by way of a negotiated settlement, reached through a formal Deed of Settlement before the case went to a hearing.
For our client, the resolution delivered more than compensation. It included a formal apology from the institution, an acknowledgement he had waited most of his life to receive.
Reaching a settlement also meant our client was spared the strain of giving evidence about deeply personal events in open court. He was able to close a chapter that had been open for a long time, on terms that recognised the wrong done to him.
Read more of our civil law case studies.
Why abuse claims often come decades later
If you are wondering why a survivor might come forward only many years afterwards, the data helps explain it. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse found that survivors took, on average, 23.9 years to tell anyone they had been abused, and that men often took longer than women, an average of around 25.6 years.
In New South Wales, there is no longer a time limit for bringing a claim for damages relating to child sexual abuse. Coming forward decades later does not close the door on justice.
*We always change the names and other identifiable details in case studies to protect client privacy.
Need an institutional abuse lawyer?
If you or someone you care about has experienced institutional or historical abuse, you do not have to face it alone, and it is never too late to ask about your options. Our civil team handles these matters with discretion, care and complete confidentiality.
Request a free, no-obligation initial chat via the form below, or call us on (02) 9261 4281.
