Civil Claim against Department of Communities and Justice: assault of a young person in a juvenile correctional centre
Background: What happened
Lily* was a young person in a NSW juvenile correctional centre, which the Department of Communities and Justice runs. She experienced a violent assault and battery incident by corrective service officers. The facility then put her on a very restrictive risk management plan.
In this instance, Lily was having lunch with other young persons when a few corrective service officers approached her. Then, one of the officers grabbed her and threw her more than a metre away. 4 officers then surrounded her and 3 of them pinned her to the ground.
The correctional centre had control and management pursuant to section 6 of the Children (Detention Centres) Act 1986 (NSW)
Claim for assault, battery and false imprisonment
O’Brien Solicitors acted for the Lily and made a claim for assault, battery and false imprisonment. We claimed the assaults and batteries on Lily were unwarranted, high handed and excessive. Further, the centre manager’s use of the risk management plan was not justified. They did not have reasonable grounds to believe that the plaintiff should be segregated to protect the personal safety of the plaintiff or any other detainee. The correction centre acted in contravention of:
- Section 19(1)
- Section 19(2)
- Section 22(2)
- Section 4(2)
- and Section 21(2)(a)
Department of Communities and Justice pays out for assault
We were able to successfully settle the claim against the Department of Communities and Justice before going court. Our client received generous monetary compensation. Our client received generous monetary compensation and had her legal costs covered.
*Names have been changed for client confidentiality
If you need to sue Corrective Services for poor treatment you or someone you know have received in a correctional centre, contact our lawyers today. We can provide you with advice on your legal options
Other Case Studies Can Be Found Below
Menu
