Mesh sufferer’s justice fight
One woman’s determination could bring relief for many, writes Cate Broughton.
A manager whose career was cut short after suffering chronic postsurgery pain hopes her High Court battle against ACC will bring justice to hundreds of people who have been shut out of compensation.
Aucklander Shereen Moloney, 66, had a hernia repair procedure with surgical mesh in 2008 and has suffered ‘‘burning’’ pain and loss of feeling in her abdomen ever since.
Moloney, who describes herself as a ‘‘very private, quiet, and reserved’’ person, said she was ‘‘outraged’’ over her treatment by ACC. The experience motivated her to seek justice in the High Court and speak out about her long battle.
The former senior health manager was devastated when, overwhelmed by pain, she was forced to quit her well-paid job in 2009.
Her plan to help her husband to get their finances in order in the decade before retirement vanished in the face of treatment costs and lost income.
Moloney’s claim for ACC treatment injury cover was declined in 2010 on the grounds there was no evidence of a physical injury.
‘‘So it just seemed obvious to me that there had been an injury during the surgery and I had the symptoms of that, which was pain.’’
The mother and grandmother has been fighting the decision ever since.
Last year Moloney took her case to the District Court, and was astounded when the judge sided with ACC despite evidence from a pain physician that she was suffering as a result of damage to her nerves.
Judge Grant
I need to change that process and hold them to account, not just for me but for other people who experience this as well. Shereen Moloney
Powell concluded