A claimant's prior experience of physical medical conditions does not, without more, establish a failure to take reasonable steps to ascertain the extent of psychological injuries under s 23A of the Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic). The shame and self-blame commonly experienced by victims of childhood sexual abuse is a relevant consideration in assessing whether reasonable steps were taken. However, even where the statutory preconditions are met, the discretion to extend time may be refused where the passage of decades and intervening traumatic events render it impossible to fairly determine causation of the claimant's psychological condition.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 4 later cases that cite this judgment.
1 of the 4 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.