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Law firm sued for alleged negligent advice short-changing sex abuse victim

Warrnambool’s leading law firm is being sued in the Supreme Court for allegedly providing negligent advice, which resulted in a clergy sex assault victim getting a potentially reduced payout.

Lawyers Arnold Thomas & Becker have initiated legal action in the Victorian Supreme Court, seeking compensation for loss and damage alleged to have been caused by failures of Maddens Lawyers in the provision of legal advice to a survivor making a claim under the National Redress Scheme.

Arnold Thomas & Becker principal Jodie Harris, who heads up the Geelong office, said her firm was alleging their client received inadequate advice from Maddens Lawyers.

“As lawyers, Maddens had a responsibility to ensure that the survivor (their client) properly understood the compensation options available and critically the value of the claim they were giving up,” she said.

“We allege that the survivor was not given any advice by Maddens about the size of their potential claim had they elected to proceed with a civil claim and sued.”

The survivor, Jane (not her real name), represented by Ms Harris, is now seeking damages from Maddens and alleges Maddens failed to provide her with adequate advice about her compensation options before accepting a redress payment.

Jane alleges that because of Maddens’ alleged failure, she lost the opportunity to pursue a civil claim against the Catholic Diocese of Ballarat and suffered a loss of a large sum in compensation for the abuse she suffered as a child.

“We allege that Maddens Lawyers breached its duty to Jane by failing to act with reasonable care, skill, and diligence and in accordance with what could reasonably be expected of a lawyer specialising in assisting historical child abuse survivors,” her lawyers said.

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As a leading Australian Abuse firm, we have helped hundreds of brave abuse survivors obtain compensation for physical, psychological and sexual abuse in intuitional settings. Money can’t take the pain away, however, it can help achieve clarity and closure. We have extensive experience in obtaining ground-breaking multi-million dollar payments for our clients. Visit our Institutional Abuse page for more information or call us on 03 9034 8433.

 

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Ross Clarke-Jones - Big Wave Surfer