Griffiths v Williams: CA 21 Nov 1995

The Defendant landlord had demanded rent arrears and said that if the Claimant did not do what he wanted he would evict her from her flat. He forcibly raped her and then fought a criminal trial, alleging that sexual relations had been consensual and calling witnesses to blacken the Claimant’s character.
Held: Damages of pounds 50,000 for a rape were correct. Rape is ‘in a quite different category from personal injury cases in general’. The victim had to go through a trial and deal with an allegation of consent. The sum included an element of aggravated damages.

Judges:

Millett LJ, Rose LJ

Citations:

Times 24-Nov-1995

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedLawson v Glaves-Smith, Executor of the Estate of Dawes (Deceased) QBD 14-Nov-2006
The claimant sought damages saying that she had been falsely imprisoned, raped and drugged by the defendant who had since died.
Held: The court had only the evidence of the claimant, and must be careful in examining it. On that evidence the . .
CitedAT and others v Dulghieru and Another QBD 19-Feb-2009
The claimants had been subject to unlawful human trafficking. Their abductors had been imprisoned, and they now sought damages. The court was asked now to assess the damages to be awarded for sexual enslavement. Each claimant suffered chronic post . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Personal Injury, Torts – Other

Updated: 09 December 2022; Ref: scu.81048