WELLINGTON - A former police video producer was yesterday awarded $242,000 in damages in a High Court ruling that said senior officers should have recognised signs that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
George Brickell sued the police for $100,000 for pain, suffering and loss of amenity and $409,000 for medical expenses, loss of earnings and superannuation, and a further $30,000 in exemplary damages in New Zealand's first civil case for damages involving the disorder.
He said repeated videotaping of horrific crime and crash scenes had traumatised him so much he had to leave his job.
The police said Mr Brickell had chosen to get unnecessarily close to horrific material and had shown a morbid and unhealthy interest in scenes of violent death.
They said he had shown no signs of stress, that his problems were with management and that he had not told them of his suffering until it was too late.
Justice McGechan, in the High Court at Wellington, said he was satisfied that the police had failed to provide a "reasonably safe system of work" and that the stress that followed was a reasonably foreseeable consequence.
However, he said, Mr Brickell had contributed by failing to tell senior police of his work or health problems and by undertaking more horrific work than was necessary.
The award totalled $373,000, but the judge deducted 35 per cent for "contributory negligence." He said the predominant cause of Mr Brickell's stress was work with horrific videos over 15 years.
Difficulties over inadequate staffing, equipment and premises had stressed Mr Brickell to some extent, but those elements were common enough in everyday working life.
Justice McGechan said he was satisfied that virtually all of Mr Brickell's involvement with horrific material was either within obligations his employment imposed or was activity he had a discretion to undertake.
- NZPA
Police job stress wins $242,000
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