Lawyers for Mount Cashel abuse victims are appealing part of a Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador decision that denied victims compensation for pain and suffering if they died before court proceedings were finalized.

In normal circumstances, a person cannot be compensated for pain and suffering if they aren’t still alive to feel it, but lawyer Geoff Budden argues this is not a normal circumstance.

Since the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John’s filed for insolvency on Dec. 21, 2021, Budden’s team feels the claims should be frozen at that date, and the families of anyone who dies after that should receive full compensation.

“At that point, the claims would have crystallized, and thus if anyone passes on after that date, the pain and suffering component of their claim, along with the other components that are not in dispute, would survive,” Budden said.

The ruling affects about five people who have died, and others who might die before the case is settled and the Archdiocese of St. John’s begins cutting cheques, Budden said……………………………