Dead man's family seek funding from Health Board they blame for death

Nicholas Stevens. Photo / supplied

The family of a man whose body was found in the Waikato River two weeks ago will today make a plea for legal funding to assist their investigation into his death, from the very organisation they blame for "medical and bureaucratic malpractice".

Nicholas Taiaroa Stevens' parents and brother will appear before the Waikato District Health Board this afternoon to apply for funding to pay for the family's legal expenses leading up to a coronial inquest, and investigations by the Health and Disability Commission, police and the DHB itself.

The 21-year-old man's father, Dave Macpherson -- a Hamilton City councillor who ran for mayor in the last local body elections -- said his son died after being let out of mental health facility the Henry Bennett Centre at Waikato Hospital on March 9.

But Mr Macpherson said his youngest child should not have been on unescorted leave and was under a compulsory care order at the centre under the Mental Health Act, after an earlier attempt on his own life resulted in urgent surgery and admission to the hospital's emergency department.

"The family had opposed the unescorted leave on the grounds that it imposed an extreme risk to Nicholas' safety, and have since discovered that on the day he went missing, Nicholas had been let out unescorted on at least six occasions before he finally disappeared -- in contravention of the hospital's own 'management plan' for Nicholas."

Mr Macpherson acknowledged the funding application was unusual because the family of patients in such situations were normally required to meet their own legal expenses, while hospital authorities had costs met by the taxpayer.

He said the family regard such a situation as "grossly unfair to already grieving families, who are then forced to compete on a completely uneven playing field".

"We do not see why the people who were legally responsible for Nicholas' care when he died should get their legal bills fully funded by the taxpayer, while the family has to pay 100 per cent of its costs incurred while trying to establish the truth about what happened," Mr Macpherson said.

"We are asking in our presentation for legal funding to match the costs of the DHB's own legal spending, no more, no less."

Mr Macpherson, his wife Jane Stevens and one of Mr Stevens' brothers would appear at the board's public meeting at 1.30pm today to present their case.