ACC 'like Iron Age' say tourists

Injured: Tony and Jenny Legge told a BBC programme the 2002 Northland crash left them permanently crippled. Picture / Northern Advocate

A British couple injured when a ute hit their campervan in Northland - killing the New Zealander behind the wheel - say the compensation ACC offered them is not enough.

Tony and Jenny Legge say ACC has offered them just under $11,000 for an accident they claim has cost them more than $1 million.

But an ACC spokesman said the Legges were using their rights to have Dispute Resolution Services review their entitlements. "ACC is confident we have done everything possible for the Legges," he said.

The couple told the BBC TV consumer watchdog programme X-Ray that they were left permanently crippled after a drunk driver speeding in the wrong lane at more than 132km/h hit their motorhome.

The July 18, 2002, crash, a kilometre north of Awanui in the Far North, killed Wayne Douglas Farrington, 30, of Victoria Valley, near Kaitaia.

But Mr and Mrs Legge said yesterday they wanted more compensation than the 4200 pounds ($10,794) ACC offered.

"It is like the Iron Age," said Mr Legge, 58, a former manager at the University Hospital of Wales, who has not been able to return to work since the accident.

"All we are asking for is adequate compensation," he told the South Wales Echo newspaper.

Mrs Legge, 60, had her pelvis shattered in five places, while Mr Legge broke his leg in two places and broke bones in both feet.

He believed that in terms of lost earnings, the crash had cost him around 400,000pounds ($1,033,000).

Mr Legge said he used to be very active but now could not even go to the shop near their home in Lon-y-mynydd, Rhiwbina, near Cardiff, without crutches.

The couple spent 2 1/2 months in Whangarei Hospital and a further five weeks at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff after their travel insurance paid for flights home.

Mr and Mrs Legge claimed some medical expenses from their travel insurance company, but found New Zealand's compensation system was very different from Britain's.

If the accident had happened in Britain, they could have sought compensation from the other driver's insurance company and, failing that, could have sued the dead driver's estate for damages. Instead, they had to apply to ACC.

But a spokesman for ACC said its governing legislation did not provide for the Legges to be paid weekly compensation on the basis of their earnings before arriving in New Zealand. Similarly, ACC could not fund housing modifications to their home in Wales.

Mr Legge said he thought more information should be available about different country's laws and compensation systems to help people prepare before they travel.
"The best we can achieve is to inform other people who go to New Zealand that they may need to take adequate insurance."

- NZPA