Dear All

On 19 March 2009 the NSW Supreme Court granted a limitation period

extension for a young woman to pursue a claim for sexual abuse: /Glennie

v Glennie/ [2009] NSWSC 154*__*

Not novel in itself, except that one of the defendants is a medical

practitioner who (it is alleged) became aware of the abuse yet failed to

report it to authorities pursuant to his obligation to do so, which is a

statutory obligation. As a result the abuse continued for many more

years. Presumably we will hear more of this case, given the unusual issue.

Previously in /Sullivan v Moody /[2001] HCA 59 the Australian High Court

had considered whether medical practitioners and others involved in

investigating and reporting on allegations of child sexual abuse had a

duty of care to suspects; the court concluded that no such duty existed.

However a duty to a victim may well be an entirely different matter.

It is noteworthy that New South Wales has a more recent statutory

obligation of 'mandatory reporting' by medical practitioners such that

they are obliged to report a problematic colleague. By extension it may

be that a doctor may become liable for the behaviour of another doctor,

in the event of an improper doctor patient sexual relationship.

Regards

Bill Madden