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Peter Ellis
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An ACC legal appeal is unlikely
to deter thousands of people signing up for backdated payouts, says Mr Wakefield's firm has been
flooded with inquiries since mailing out a flyer offering to help accident and
trauma victims claim backdated lump-sum compensation. Over 4000 people have already
signed authorisations for Wakefield Associates' Accident Compensation
Services division to act on their behalf, and yesterday calls and
authorisation forms were still coming into the firm's Riccarton office. Accident Compensation Minister
Murray McCully said yesterday that the Accident and Rehabilitation
Compensation Insurance Corporation had lodged an appeal against a District
Court decision by Judge Martin Beattie last year that inspired the He said the law firm's action in
seeking clients could be seen as premature, pending an appeal in the High
Court. Mr Wakefield said yesterday he
was aware of the ACC appeal, which would challenge whether the independence
allowance could be backdated past 1992. ACC regulations already allowed
the allowance to be backdated at least to 1992, and potential clients now
signing up with his firm would be largely unaffected, Mr Wakefield said. ``At
the minimum these claimants will be entitled to (the allowance) back to that
date.'' Wakefield Associates says the
court decision means that people who have seen their doctor after an accident
or trauma or have lodged a claim with ACC may be entitled to a backdated
lump-sum payment from the date of injury. |
