Six weeks ago, a woman delivering the Dunedin morning newspaper was set upon by three Irish wolfhounds. She suffered injuries to much of her body and needed extensive surgery. This week, it was reported a skin graft had failed to take, so she may require more time in hospital. The mauling left the woman traumatised and sleep-deprived.
Little wonder. Irish wolfhounds are large dogs, though they do not feature in local authority statistics for troubling behaviour. Nonetheless, all dogs can bite and pack behaviour is unpredictable, as the woman on the dawn newspaper run sadly discovered. Having survived the frightening attack, the woman has now found income assistance provided by law through ACC is limited because of her circumstances. The victim is a beneficiary, though she has - or rather had - part-time work.
The delivery job provided limited income, and the state assisted with an abated benefit. Her injuries are such she cannot return to the paper round, and she has been forced to give up another part-time job.
The woman is caught in a situation where her benefit was topped-up by income from the jobs she did. Had she been fully employed, she would have been entitled to 80 per cent of her income from ACC while she was off work. That support would have helped ease her discomfort.
Because her income is limited, it makes economic sense she reverts to her full benefit entitlement as she recovers from her injuries. ACC covers her medical treatment and rehabilitation needs, but does not enter the picture on the income front. Unsurprisingly, the woman has complained she is feeling financially squeezed, and struggling to pay her bills. Any lump sum payment must await an assessment of permanent disability, which for the victim could be some time off, years even.
