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Sonia Gibson, born in 1970, endured an isolated childhood in the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie areas. She lived in fear in a home where there were few visitors and little access to ordinary amenities, including medical treatment when needed.
She described being kicked, hit, grabbed and thrown by her father from about the age of six with the violence escalating by about age 10. She was that she was beaten weekly, thrown against a bedroom wall and, on one occasion, knocked unconscious while trying to escape.
She left home at about 14 or 15 and later completed Year 10 with low grades before working in a range of relatively low-paid jobs.
Her parents divorced in 1989.
Her lawsuit for the childhood abuse against the father Barry Bernard Blomdale was personally served on him in November 2025. In the absence of any defence or any other response to the suit, the Supreme Court of NSW entered default judgment and proceeded to assess damages.
On the evidence before the Court, and in the absence of any opposing case, Acting Justice Michael Elkaim was satisfied that the allegations had been proved and agreed that because the pleaded conduct involved intentional acts intended to cause injury, the Civil Liability Act did not apply and damages were instead to be assessed at common law.
A report by psychiatrist Justine Hoey-Thompson included diagnoses of post-traumatic stress disorder, dissociative disorder, depressive disorders, generalised anxiety disorder and borderline personality disorder, among other conditions. Her opinion was that the childhood abuse was by far the predominant cause of Ms Gibson’s psychiatric conditions.
The claimant’s evidence described long-term counselling and antidepressant use, social isolation, impaired relationships and difficulty sustaining employment. Gibson had worked in 52 jobs between 1985 and 2025. By the time of the hearing, she was no longer working and had been receiving the Disability Support Pension since April 2026.
Recognising that precise calculations were not possible on this evidence, the judge assessed global sums for economic loss. It allowed $300,000 for past economic loss, $30,000 for past superannuation and $210,000 interest on past economic loss. Future economic loss, including lost superannuation, was assessed at $350,000. The court also allowed $325,000 for general damages and $130,000 interest on those damages.
A claim for dental repair as a consequence of physical abuse was refused on the basis that more likely related to neglect by both parents. Past gratuitous care was also refused because the evidence did not give sufficient particulars of the tasks or time alleged to have been performed on Gibson’s behalf. Past out-of-pocket expenses of $5,000 and future treatment expenses of $53,990 were allowed.
A further $75,000 was awarded as a single amount for aggravated and exemplary damages. The Court noted that the defendant had not been charged with a criminal offence against Gibson, but held that one sum was appropriate both to compensate for the additional hurt caused by the manner of the wrongdoing and to mark the Court’s disapproval of it.
The total award was $1,478,990. The defendant was ordered to pay Ms Gibson’s costs, and she was given leave to seek a gross sum costs order.
There is no indication in the judgment as to whether the 86-yr-old Blomdale has the resources to pay the judgment or legal costs.
Gibson v Blomdale [2026] NSWSC 952, Elkaim AJ, 7 August 2026 Read case
Categories: psychological injury