NORTHERN IRELAND
UTV
Story by Alan Erwin, Belfast
A former resident at a children’s care home treated with “cold and callous indifference” is to be denied compensation due to his delay in taking legal action, a High Court judge has ruled.
Mr Justice Horner held Michael McKee would have been entitled to £6,500 damages for emotional distress in fearing the consequences of wetting the bed during his stay at Nazareth Lodge in Belfast nearly 60 years ago.
But the claim was dismissed as statute barred because of the excessive time he took to bring proceedings.
Mr McKee, 65, sued The Sisters of Nazareth over the physical abuse he was allegedly subjected to during his stay as an eight-year-old boy back in 1958.
Lawyers for the congregation defended the case by challenging the reliability of his account and questioning why he waited half a century to take legal action.
Mr McKee spent 73 days at the home after being admitted with his older brother due to their parents’ ill-health.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.