KEY POINTS:
A final report into the circumstances of a fall which seriously injured jockey Judy Lawson at Rangiora last year was yesterday described by husband Gary Lawson as a whitewash.
Lawson said while he had not read the report, which is officially released today, he had been told by New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR), it was no different to earlier drafts which he had read.
"It's an insult, it's basically a whitewash," Gary Lawson told NZPA.
"They have washed their hands of any responsibility. There is no integrity in New Zealand racing."
Judy Lawson suffered serious head injuries when her mount fell in the opening race of a meeting at Rangiora, North Canterbury, on October 23.
She was in a coma for 12 days, was later transferred to the brain injury unit of Burwood Hospital in Christchurch and five months later the recovery process remains slow.
A one page report a month after the fall, found "no rider was at fault in this particular incident".
Lawson said he was disappointed there was no admission of any responsibility by NZTR. He said NZTR's only interest was not to open itself to the possibility of being sued.
Money was not his motive.
"Money, it's never been mentioned. All we want is procedures put in place so this does not happen again."
He was disappointed NZTR had not agreed to an independent inquiry.
Lawson was not sure what legal avenues were available to him but said he would be consulting his lawyer.
"We haven't counted anything out and we'll just take it from here," he said.
Lawson questioned why Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) had not been involved in the inquiry.
NZTR integrity manager Fin Powrie declined to comment until the report was officially released but said OSH had been consulted.
Judy Lawson, the mother of a young daughter, suffers post-traumatic epilepsy, her memory is impaired and she is constantly tired.
Lawson said there was greater need for racing to employ people who were experts in the irrigation of racetracks and decisions on whether to race should not be left to racing club managers or stipendiary stewards.
The meeting at which Judy Lawson was injured had been postponed from the previous day. The track had been considered too slippery.
- NZPA
