A.C.C. to pay for spying on man

Press, 20 December 1988, Page 7

A.C.C. to pay for spying on man

PA Wellington A man has been awarded accident compensation for emotional distress suffered from being spied on by a private investigator who was hired by the Accident Compensation Corporation. The Hamilton man’s lawyer said yesterday the decision, the first to be accepted on the ground of emotional distress, could set a precedent for many similar claims.

However, the corporation’s deputy managing director, Steve Anderson, said the claim

was not significant, it was of “novelty value” only. Mr Anderson confirmed the claim had been accepted but declined to comment further. The lawyer, Quentin Mines, said the corporation hired a private investigator to look at his client’s previous claim for a back injury. The man was under surveillance from a refrigeration van which the corporation later admitted belonged to a private investigating firm it had hired. Mr Mines said he and his client believed the corpora-

tion’s actions were unacceptable.

As well as being put under surveillance, his client was assaulted by the investigator, Mr Mines said. Mr Anderson confirmed an “altercation” took place.

No injury was suffered from the assault and the claim was for emotional distress, worry and anger caused by being under surveillance.

The man had been receiving compensation for the back injury but it was stopped pending a review, Mr Mines said.

Eventually the corporation granted an application for the compensation to be reinstated, he said. Mr Anderson said the corporation had been hiring private investigators for about a year but they were involved in fewer than 1 per cent of the total claims received.

He refused a request for the review decision to be issued because he said it contained personal information, and also declined to issue the report with the personal information deleted.