Disabled man to be compensated by St Michael’s House after alleged sexual assault

A disabled man is to be compensated by St Michael’s House, one of the State’s largest disability service providers

, following allegations that he was sexually assaulted by another client.

Dublin Circuit Court heard yesterday that Joseph Lambe (25), a client of St Michael's House, was allegedly assaulted while left unsupervised by staff members.

Mr Lambe, through his aunt and guardian Sandra Smyth, sued St Michael's House on the grounds of negligence in that the provider had failed to supervise him adequately.

Barrister Aisling Mulligan, acting for Mr Lambe, said he had suffered bruises to his body during the course of the attack and was left distressed over the following days.

Full defence The court heard St Michael’s House had entered a full defence to Mr Lambe’s claim.

Ms Mulligan told the court that Mr Lambe did not appear to be suffering further after- effects of distress.

Medical advice received indicated it was not in her client’s best interests to seek further evidence regarding any psychological damage.

An offer by St Michael’s House to pay compensation of €15,000 to Mr Lambe, without admitting liability, was accepted in court and approved by Judge Sarah Berkeley.

Ms Smyth yesterday welcomed the outcome but criticised what she said was a lack of supervision of clients, along with delays over being notified of the incident. She said the incident occurred on a Friday and it took until the following Monday afternoon before she was informed of what had occurred.

“Joseph was very distressed all weekend and we didn’t know what happened,” she said. “He kept asking to be cleaned repeatedly. He literally had to be dragged back on to the bus going to St Michael’s on the Monday morning. It was only later we realised what happened.”

By virtue of his disability, he was unable to communicate the cause of his distress.

In a statement last night, St Michael’s House said the incident had been immediately identified and investigated by staff, in line with service-user protection and safety protocols and procedures.

It added that the incident had been “immediately reported” to the families and to gardaí.

“St Michael’s House disputes there was a lack of monitoring in this case and is satisfied that the appropriate protocols and procedures are in place for the care and welfare of all service users,” it said.