A HIGH court judge has halted an action by eight psychiatric patients who alleged they were sexually assaulted by a consultant psychiatrist in a hospital in the southeast who has since died.
Mr Justice John Hedigan ruled that there was inordinate and inexcusable delay by the women in advancing their cases since they issued them. They claimed they were assaulted during the course of their medical treatment by the psychiatrist between 1976 and 1991.
The psychiatrist died in 2004 and his estate, stated to be insolvent, was joined as a party to the proceedings. The actions were also brought against the Brothers of Charity alleging negligence and breach of duty in their alleged capacity as employer of the deceased.
Both defendants brought a preliminary motion to have the proceedings struck out on grounds of delay and want of prosecution and that motion was granted yesterday by Mr Justice Hedigan.
He said each of the women had commenced a separate set of proceedings alleging sexual assault, trespass to the person and breach of their constitutional rights to bodily integrity. He noted they had also said the defendants had not attempted to deny the allegations.
Most of the cases were initiated in 1998 and the judge ruled it was not unfair at that point to have expected the defendants to defend the claims. However, he found there was inordinate and inexcusable delay since then in prosecuting the claims.
With the exception of one of the women, no particulars had been furnished despite demands by the defendants, he noted.