Child care home abuse compensation

Children living at Nazareth House children's homes in Scotland have been awarded compensation by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) for abuse they suffered at the hands of nuns who ran the homes in the fifties, sixties and seventies.

Eighteen residents of the former homes in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Kilmarnock received awards of up to £7,500 from the CICA after a hearing last month.

It is alleged that they were abused, beaten or humiliated as children by some of the nuns who ran the homes.

Up to a hundred further people are believed to have come forward to seek compensation.

Appeal hearings for twenty-four further people are scheduled for October in Glasgow.

Child abuse solicitor comments

Tracey Storey, solicitor at Irwin Mitchell said:

I am very pleased that CICA awards have been made to these former residents. However, the awards seem low, bearing in mind what these people have endured. The Irish Redress Board in contrast has been far more generous in their awards to people affected by childhood abuse in Ireland. It is time that the CICA tariff scheme was reviewed to properly compensate people who suffered terrible abuse and who have lived with the affects of abuse throughout their adult lives.

Additionally the law on time limits needs to be changed to allow people to bring late claims in the courts. It can sometimes take years for people to speak out about events and the law should be flexible enough to recognise this.

Do you have a claim? If your life has been effected by care abuse or negligence in some shape or form, our solicitors can help. Vist the professional negligence section.