Omission of important fact at Overlawyered
Walter is generally pretty good about presenting the important facts, but he left one in out in the following post:
"Reasonable foreseeability? "A woman has won nearly $240,000 compensation from RailCorp after a judge ruled she was raped because she had broken her ankle weeks earlier at a Sydney railway station. RailCorp was found responsible for the woman's rape at a private home, because she could not escape with her leg in plaster, and for her subsequent depression." (Geesche Jacobsen, "A fall, a rape - and $240,000", Sydney Morning Herald, Apr. 26)."
Source: Overlawyered: Oz: railway slip-fall blamed for rape
Reading Walter's post above, one might come to the conclusion that the woman was awarded a large amount of money because of the rape. But she wasn't.
"She was awarded $239,405 for the injury, medical expenses, and lost wages. [Not quite $200,000 U.S. Dollars - Justinian]
This includes damages of $150 a week for the rest of her life because her injury prevents her working in the same position she did before coming to Australia."
Source: A fall, a rape - and $240,000 - National - smh.com.au
Let's assume "for the rest of her life" was estimated at 25 years; that would mean $195,000 of the award was because of the injury. Since she is only 36, one would assume the court estimated she has longer than 25 years to live, so this figure might be low. At any rate, the woman wasn't awarded a quarter of a million dollars for the rape.