CourierMail.com.au
A FORMER policeman who attended horrific crime scenes, including a home where twin babies, a girl and their mother had their throats slit, has been awarded $753,676 damages.
Barry Doherty had told the New South Wales Supreme Court of a flashback he experienced when he visited friends and put one of their twin babies back in his crib.
"The baby's head went back and the image I received was I was holding one of the (murdered) babies," he said.
"I've run to the bathroom and I have been violently ill."
Mr Doherty, 47, joined the police force in 1985 and spent most of his career working as a crime scene investigation officer until he was medically discharged in November 2007. He sued the State of NSW claiming he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of its negligence.
Yesterday, Justice Derek Price found in favour of Mr Doherty, concluding the state had breached its duty of care to him.
"It was the defendant's duty to take reasonable care to avoid exposing him to unnecessary risks of injury," the judge said.
"A reasonable person in the position of the police force would have taken the precaution of ensuring that the plaintiff's psychological condition was carefully monitored."
But the judge reduced by 35 per cent the award Mr Doherty would have received, because of his own "contributory negligence". The state had argued Mr Doherty actively hid his illness from his employer.
The judge said Mr Doherty had tried to cope for some years but although his nightmares and flashbacks became more frequent, he failed to reveal his psychological problems.
In his evidence, Mr Doherty referred to attending many horrific disaster, accident, suicide and crime scenes.
The judge found his psychological injury began in 1994 after he attended the Wollongong crime scene where Senjzana Valevski and her three children had their throats cut.
One of the "worst scenes" he attended was in relation to the 1998 Wollongong murder of David O'Hearn, who was beheaded and disembowelled.
Other horrific cases included a woman who was bashed beyond recognition, a plane crash where Mr Doherty had to put body parts in individual bags, and a cyclist who was almost cut in half when he was run over by a truck.
Mr Doherty told the judge he particularly struggled with jobs involving children and "I was unlucky to get a number of these during my time".
The judge concluded Mr Doherty suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, "with chronic and severe symptoms and a major depressive disorder".
"I accept that the plaintiff developed distressing and intrusive recollections of major traumatic events," he said.
His condition includes irritability, sleep disturbance, emotional numbing, and an "exaggerated startle response and hyper-vigilance".
Mr Doherty has not worked since being medically discharged and the judge accepted he would never fully recover from his present condition.
