Judge says ACC law unfair to abuse victim

A woman who experienced more than a decade of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her husband has been denied ACC cover because of a technicality.

In a recent District Court decision, Judge Ongley dismissed a woman’s appeal against an ACC decision. She was granted cover for mental injury but ACC declined to continue weekly compensation because it claimed she was a non-earner when she began counselling in 2007. The judge wrote in his decision that the situation was a “plainly unfair result”.

The situation had been caused by the "collision" of two rules affecting entitlement to weekly compensation, the judge said.

One rule stated that the claimant had to be an earner at the date of injury and incapacity.

But a second rule meant that the date of the injury, in the case of mental injury caused by certain criminal acts, is the date on which the claimant received treatment for that injury

John Miller, who represented the woman in her appeal, said about 200 people were in a similar position.  The situation had been caused by a particular High Court decision.

Mr Miller is preparing a case involving 30 claimants that would challenge that point of law

Read Judge admits law unfair to abuse victim (stuff.co.nz, 18/1/2013)   

Read the written decision S A v Accident Compensation Corporation [2013] NZACC 5 (10 January 2013)  

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