State settles further $7.5m child sexual abuse claims

Survivors of alleged child sexual abuse at a public hospital where an accused pedophile nurse worked for almost two decades have settled a multimillion-dollar legal claim. More than 20 victims of alleged historical abuse at Tasmania's Launceston General Hospital are being represented by law firm Arnold Thomas and Becker. Nurse James Geoffrey Griffin took his life in October 2019 after being charged with child sexual offences. An inquiry, partly sparked by a podcast that uncovered Griffin's conduct, found the hospital and police failed to act properly on multiple reports and red flags across years. Arnold Thomas and Becker recently settled five Supreme Court civil claims made against the Tasmanian Health Service and the state for about $7.5 million in total. The survivors have alleged abuse by Griffin and another nurse. "The (hospital) and the Tasmanian Health Service should have done more to protect these children," Arnold Thomas and Becker principal lawyer Kelly Schober said on Monday. Ms Schober said she expected further claims to be settled in coming days and it was likely more would be made. "We also have a number of other claims currently in the court system and are about to issue a further 11 claims in the Supreme Court," she said. "We continue to have concerns there may be more people who to date have been reluctant to come forward with allegations against these nurses or other staff." Tasmania's government in November settled a $75 million class action with 129 survivors of abuse at the Ashley Youth Detention Centre. The centre, found to pose an ongoing abuse risk by the inquiry's September 2023 final report, remains operational despite a government pledge to close it by the end of 2024. One claimant, who said they were abused at the hospital over numerous admissions, said they wanted to hold the state to account. "For too long I have blamed, shamed and punished myself for what happened to me," they said. "This settlement is an acknowledgement of my trauma and a way for me to start shifting the blame off myself and onto the place where it rightfully belongs." According to a coronial report, police found a significant amount of child exploitation material during a search of Griffin's home. There was evidence he bragged in internet chatrooms about using anti-histamines to sedate a young girl and some of her friends to sexually abuse them. The month before he died, Griffin was charged with several criminal offences involving repeated sexual abuse of a child. Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the government was committed to reform and his heart went out to victim-survivors and their families. Work was under way to implement 24 health-specific recommendations from the inquiry, a department of health spokeswoman said. The state was committed to learning from past wrongs and protecting children and young people in the future, she said. Lifeline 13 11 14 Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25) National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028