VIC Accidental child death Entitlements for parents that have become emotionally disturbed from the loss

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Tim Shaw

Member
19 June 2018
3
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Hi I think I have a valid personal injury claim but everything I can find about my situation is vague here is my situation:

My son blake shaw died 22/08/16 in a horrendous accident in which a closed double door cabinet that I had designed for a DVD collection toppled and the top half of the 7' cabinet crushed his skull into tiles, I had it made so he couldn't get his fingers jammed, couldn't climb due to its completely flat surface and couldn't open the doors as I had them installed at 5' 2" so they were well out of his reach, and the cabinet had stood where it stood for 7 months prior, the amount of pain and suffering my partner and I had to and are dealing with. We both have been separately diagnosed with chronic PTSD, major Depression, suicidal thoughts, and I alone have been diagnosed night terrors and insomnia. Life is hell... from what I can make out my partner and I may be able to put in a claim for loss of consortium, loss of identity, loss of security, maybe impairment of intimate physical relationships I dont fully know what we could claim if anything. The police took over the house at the time of death, the scene of the accident was in a different room as to where he died, but the police had left blakey mostly uncovered and wouldn't let either of us see him for 5 hours, I had to say goodbye and carry my son to the ambulance in full rigormortis that those moments have deeply disturbed me and haunt me every day, then the leading senior Sargent in charge of the papers for the coroner on 2 separate occasions said to me and kirsty that we have him snowed under with paperwork, and how much of a 'Pain in the Ass" it all is for him. I am disgusted with the way the police handled the situation and the very cold and harsh comments from Sargent mellington, can anything be done there? and do we qualify for any sort of compensation we have not been living life so to say since he died, now we're trying to restart life but we are buried in debt after the psychological nightmare the last 2 years have been
 

Arche

Well-Known Member
20 March 2015
114
11
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Hi Tim
I am very sorry for your loss.
Based on what you have said as the Police were not responsible for the sad death of your son, I cannot see how you are able to claim any damages from them. If you could point to negligence on someone's part for causing the accident, you may have a claim against that person/ entity but I cannot see how you have any action against the police sorry.
 

Tim Shaw

Member
19 June 2018
3
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I didn't mean blame the police for his death but the added duress suffered by the parents of them not letting letting us see him to say goodbye until 5 hours after his death, his cold pale blue body in full state of rigormortis is burned into my brain I suffer insomnia, chronic PTSD and flashbacks of his lifeless pale blue stiff body, he was only ever partially covered after his death and the comments from the Sargent about all the paperwork being a "huge pain in his arse" the police did not help us with our suffering in fact the police added more stress, not leting us see blake, until his body was a very disturbing image and the icy cold stiff feeling of his body lying on cold tiles for 5 and a half hours haunts us all the time. while they investigated the scene of the accident in an adjacent seperate lounge. It was completely unessasery extra psychological trauma that still cause emotional disturbances today. I'm not talking about the police being at fault, but the police caused unnecessary diagnosed psychological damage. I suppose like a personal injury claim for the parents for unessaseraly being put through, unnecessary exposure to disturbing traumatic sight and inappropriate comments following his death causing diagnosable psychological damage?
 

Tim Shaw

Member
19 June 2018
3
0
1
I did point out to my landlord that the floors are shifting off level, he has $20,000,000 personal liability insurance, I can prove his negligence, his policy states it will cover death but it wont cover personal injury to anyone living in the house, but personal injury is not death and there is no further mension of death in the Insurance cover PDS