Peter Ellis web site - Christchurch crèche case
	ACC Compensation for Sex Abuse - Index
	1999 Index
	The Press February 9, 1999, Lawyer calls for review of ACC by Cullen Smith A Christchurch solicitor specialising in accident-compensation cases is calling for a full review of the Accident Compensation Corporation. Garry Wakefield, of Wakefield Associates, says a “phenomenal” response to his firm's offer to help accident or trauma victims claim backdated lump-sum payments and allowances shows the ACC is failing its clients. His firm had been inundated with inquiries about the offer, with 4000 people signing authorisations for Accident Compensation Services to act on their behalf. Wakefield Associates' Accident Compensation Services division had mailed out thousands of flyers in Auckland and Christchurch claiming people who had had an injury or accident might be entitled to an independence allowance. The flyer states that people who have visited a doctor for any injury or accident or have lodged a claim with the ACC may be entitled to a backdated lump-sum payment of the allowance. Wakefield Associates is offering to help secure lump-sum payments and future payments of up to $61.68 a week for a fee of 30 per cent of any backdated payment plus the first quarterly payment by ACC. Unsuccessful claimants will not be charged. Publicity about the flyer last week prompted Accident Compensation Minister Murray McCully to call for an urgent report on the Wakefield scheme. The corporation had lodged an appeal against a District Court decision which opened the door to the back-dated claims, he said yesterday. Wakefield Associates' actions could be seen as premature given the unknown outcome of the appeal process, he said. He was also waiting on advice on whether changes to ACC regulations or legislation might be required. Case managers were committed to ensuring full information was available to claimants. A recent survey showed 77 per cent of claimants rated their experience dealing with the ACC as satisfactory or very satisfactory, Mr McCully said. Mr Wakefield said that people had been phoning and faxing from around the country seeking authorisation forms, with some inquiries from expatriates in Australia. He said the response supported the firm's contention that ACC case managers did not fully inform clients of their entitlements. “That (the 4000 replies) is a fairly big chunk of the population who haven't been advised of their entitlements,” he said. Mr Wakefield said injured people were not getting the help they deserved and the ACC was due for a shake-up. “Certainly there is a need to overhaul accident compensation legislation in New Zealand and a review of the way ACC operates,” he said. “It's sad that there's so many people out there that haven't been looked after properly by ACC. “ Mr Wakefield yesterday repeated his assertion that thousands of people might miss out on big payments if they failed to make claims before July 1, when new ACC legislation takes effect. Lump-sum payments by the ACC were abolished in 1992, but a District Court decision late last year alerted his firm to the potential for backdated payments -- effectively lump-sum payouts. Until a 1997 law change, people were paid an independence allowance from the date they applied for it, regardless of when their accident happened. They could now backdate their claim to the date of injury and receive an accumulated weekly allowance.