HAUNTED BY DAM DEATHS
LEGAL LOOPHOLE: Stepbrother of boys killed in Winchelsea tragedy denied PTSD compo
THE stepbrother of three boys murdered in a dam at Winchelsea has been denied compensation for post-traumatic stress he sustained at the scene because of a legal loophole.
Luke Moules was only eight years old when he came across the crash scene where Jai, 10, Tyler, 7, and Bailey Farquharson, 2, were killed by their own father in 2005.
THE stepbrother of three boys murdered in a dam at Winchelsea has been denied compensation for post-traumatic stress he sustained at the scene because of a legal loophole.
Luke Moules was only eight years old when he came across the crash scene where Jai, 10, Tyler, 7, and Bailey Farquharson, 2, were killed by their own father in 2005.
Robert Farquharson had deliberately driven his car into the dam while returning his sons to their mother after a Father’s Day access visit, and is currently serving a life sentence after being found guilty of the triple murder.
Mr Moules was one of the first people on the scene as his father, Stephen Moules, tried to find the submerged car in the dark and save the boys before emergency services arrived.
A tribunal hearing last week heard the scene had haunted him ever since.
The infamous case returned to the public arena as the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal rejected a compensation claim from Mr Moules.
Now aged 23, Mr Moules had appealed to the tribunal after the Transport Accident Commission denied his claim because it was lodged too late.
Both VCAT and the TAC ruled that they had no discretion to approve the claim, despite accepting that the 2005 murders had caused his PTSD.
At the time of the incident, Mr Moules’ father was in a relationship with the children’s mother, Cindy Gambino, after she had split with Farquharson a year earlier.
Ms Gambino and Mr Moules’ father are now married.
Mr Moules had been “good friends” with his stepbrothers, the tribunal heard.
Delivering the judgment last week, VCAT senior member Jonathan Smithers said legislation required Mr Moules to lodge his claim prior to his 21st birthday.
Mr Smithers said the claim was not properly lodged until six months later.
Mr Moules had argued that a claim was initially lodged with the TAC in 2011 through a telephone call made by his stepmother.
However, the tribunal ruled that TAC claims could not be made over the phone at that time, with the family required to sign and return paperwork that was sent to them in order for the claim to be valid.
Mr Moules also contended that the claim lodged after his 21st birthday should still be accepted because medical evidence showed the PTSD had only become obvious last year.
Instead, the tribunal agreed with the TAC’s position that signs of the disorder were prevalent during Mr Moules’ childhood, meaning he could not receive a time extension to make a claim.
Lawyers representing Mr Moules had suggested it would be a “great injustice” if his claim was not accepted, the tribunal heard, but Mr Smithers said his decision was bound by legislation.
“This is an unfortunate outcome for the applicant, given that TAC accepts that he has PTSD,” he said. “There is, however, no discretion to extend time in this instance.”
The Geelong Advertiser attempted to contact Mr Moules, but did not receive a response before deadline.