Damages for child sexual abuse assessed at €350,000

Personal injuries - Assessment of damages – child sexual abuse - father and uncle have since been convicted of sexual offences arising out of this abuse – reporting restrictions – procedural history – plaintiff’s evidence – medical evidence – personal injuries guidelines - existing case law in respect of damages for child sexual abuse - question of the assessment of general damages for child sexual abuse - need for proportionality between damages for child sexual abuse and other types of serious personal injuries - nature and duration of the psychological injury suffered by the plaintiff - plaintiff has been diagnosed as suffering complex post-traumatic stress disorder - grave breach of trust involved - damages for pain and suffering to date are assessed at €275,000 - sum of €75,000 will be awarded for pain and suffering into the future - higher award than those summarised above is justified in the present case having regard to the greater severity of both the sexual abuse and the psychological sequalae – total damages in the sum of €350,000 awarded