ACC’s legal appetite

I WAS not at all surprised to read the efforts of ACC’s spin doctor (ODT, 16.4.18) to pass the buck for his employer’s failure to respect and protect the fundamental human rights of people with disabilities.

New Zealanders can expect little else from ACC, regardless of which bunch of political actors currently occupy the Beehive.

There is a bigger problem with access to justice under our ACC scheme than simply seeing to it that lawyers get more money to represent claimants.

In that respect, I must beg to differ with my old boss and mentor, Peter Sara, whose views I hold in the greatest respect.

For many years ACC has stated, in its public documents, the percentage of reviews and appeals it expects to win every year. By sheer coincidence, its ‘‘independent’’ review company delivers an outcome always one or two percentage points above that advertised by its client, ACC.

Matters are slightly better in the District Court. After people began winning more appeals there, and Parliament noticed, ACC threw even more of your readers’ money into beefing up its legal machinery.

Things soon returned to normal and claimants are now losing their appeals as often as they did — a fact also noted by our political representatives. Michael Gibson

Invercargill