|
The Dominion
February 21, 2002
Sex abuse claims at 500 a week
by Roeland van den Bergh
Sexual abuse claims to ACC have increased fivefold since
it was revealed early last month that victims could receive lump-sum payments
of up to $100,000.
ACC bosses told a parliamentary select committee
yesterday that the number of claims for sexual abuse had risen to 500 a week
from 100 a week since January 7.
The increase follows a national mail-out by Christchurch law firm Wakefield Associates offering to
get sexual abuse victims up to $175,000 in compensation in return for a
commission from any payout.
ACC also sent cards with an 0800 number to 2000
doctors and other treatment providers to give to patients who might want to
claim for sexual abuse.
ACC chief executive Garry Wilson said yesterday
that the massive increase would create operational problems for ACC, which
needed to find extra staff to process the claims.
From April 1, accident victims and sex abuse
victims will again be able to claim lump sums, which were abolished in 1992.
The lump sums will replace the independence allowance and will be worth up to
$100,000 on a sliding scale.
Sex abuse victims will not have to complain to the
police or name an abuser to be entitled to lump sums. Claimants will receive
a payout for the mental or physical impact of sexual abuse only after they
have undergone therapy.
ACC lawyer Gerard McGreevy said he did not expect
the acceptance rate of claims to change, but the administrative costs were
huge.
ACC had not yet quantified the extra cost of the
increase in claims, but Mr McGreevy said the extra claims equated to the
workloads of seven or eight case managers.
Mr Wilson said ACC had paid out about $60 million
more in claims than budgeted, mostly due to one-off small claims and a higher
than expected accident rate. However, earnings were also up and he expected
ACC to report an improved result for the full year.
Most of the sexual abuse claimants had submitted
only an intention to claim and were yet to supply details of the incident
being claimed for, he said.
"We don't think that more than one in ten will
probably go through, but we don't really know that yet, so it is probably too
early for us even to make a call."
Two new staff would be employed to deal with the
inquiry stage of claims. The real costs would begin if there were any
settlements.
"There is no doubt that there is a lot of
undisclosed sexual abuse in New
Zealand. There will be some people who are
thoroughly entitled to ACC compensation that haven't previously come
forward," Mr Wilson said.
|
