Daughter of woman killed by drug user sues DHB

The daughter of a woman killed by a driver under the influence of drugs five years ago is suing a South Island district health board over the death.

Mary Radley was killed at Koromiko, near Picton, on August 26, 2004 when her car collided head-on with a car driven by a man with methadone and the equivalent of 500mg of a tranquilliser in his system.

The driver, who has name suppression, was later sentenced to two years and seven months prison after admitting to driving under the influence of methadone and Triazolam and causing death.

At the time of the crash he was a patient on the methadone programme run by the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board (DHB).

Mrs Radley's daughter, Rachael Ford, told The Press she had decided to sue the DHB because she did not feel it had fully accepted the impacts of its actions.

Ms Ford said her claim would argue that under human rights legislation, the DHB breached its obligations to ensure public safety by its alleged lax management of the driver who killed Mrs Radley.

A coroner's court finding said the DHB had been aware the man was a risk on the roads, after failing four drug tests in the year before the crash.

- NZPA