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ACC has sent
2000 doctors and other treatment providers 100 cards each with an 0800 number
to give to patients who might want to claim compensation for sexual abuse. Wellington
occupational health clinic nurse Jenny Graham says the cards are just as much
soliciting for business as fliers being distributed around New Zealand by a
Christchurch law firm offering to get abuse victims big sums from ACC in
return for a commission. Mrs Graham said
she was furious when the cards arrived from ACC along with a small stuffed
bear just before Christmas. Her husband, a doctor, also received the cards
and a bear. "What a
waste of money," said Mrs Graham, who is in charge of the Wellington
Newspapers occupational health clinic. "I was so angry I was planning to
send them back. We look after 500 people and sending us 100 cards suggests
they believe one in five of our staff have been abused. ACC is soliciting for
people just as much as that law firm." ACC sensitive
claims manager Gail Kettle criticised law firm Wakefield Associates this week
for its flier offering to get up to $175,000 compensation for sex abuse
victims for a commission. She said victims
should contact ACC or an approved counsellor, who would deal with their
claims without charging. ACC pays for the
counselling of sex abuse victims and pays them an "independence
allowance" ranging from $10 to $61 a week, paid quarterly. From April 1,
accident victims and sex abuse victims will again be able to claim lump sums,
abolished in 1992. They will replace the independence allowance and be worth
a maximum $100,000 on a sliding scale. Sex abuse
victims will be entitled to lump sums without having to complain to police or
name an abuser. Counsellors will make recommendations on whether to accept a
claim. Ms Kettle
defended the cards and bears yesterday. She said it was a joint initiative
with Women's Refuges. "It is to make people aware of what is available.
It's very easy to become cynical, but there are a lot of genuine people out
there who we need to give as much help as possible." There are 900
ACC-approved sex abuse counsellors. Ms Kettle said all were being extensively
re-evaluated to make sure they met the standards required when the new act
took effect. She said
measures were being considered to stop the practice of some counsellors
treating victims, sometimes for years, with no apparent benefit to the
victim. If there was no improvement after, say, 10 sessions, an independent
psychiatrist's assessment would be sought. ACC's lawyer,
Gerard McGreevy, said yesterday that Ms Kettle's confirmation in yesterday's
Dominion that victims would be able to get lump sums for abuse that happened
years ago was wrong. Victims claiming
for old incidents after April 1 would continue to be entitled to the
independence allowance and other existing entitlements. This was the same as
for people injured in accidents before April 1. A victim
contacted The Dominion yesterday, saying it was unfair that lump sums would
go only to people who claimed after April 1. She said she was
abused when she was 11 and 14, and now at 40 she had begun counselling. Her
independence allowance was $180 a quarter, and she had to pay $20 toward each
counselling session, which came to $240 a quarter. "I'm thinking of
giving up counselling as it is costing me more than they give me." |
