Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1983 and Michelle Denny [1993] ACTSC 37 (16 April 1993)

SUPREME COURT OF THE ACT

CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION ACT 1983 and MICHELLE DENNY
No. CIC83 of 1990
Number of pages - 3

COURT

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
Master Hogan(1)

HEARING

CANBERRA, 11 February 1993
16:4:1993

Counsel for the Plaintiff: R. Livingstone

Instructing Solicitors: Gary Robb and Associates

Counsel for Defendant: K. J. Holmes

Instructing Solicitors: Australian Government Solicitor

ORDER

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:
1. Compensation be awarded to the applicant in the sum of $20,524.70.

DECISION

MASTER HOGAN This is an application for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1983.

2. On 25 February 1991 one Mark David Bennett was indicted in this Court on a charge that on 29 May 1990 he robbed Melody McCure, Nicholas Gajic and the applicant of $13,170 in cash whilst he was armed with a replica Browning pistol. He was later convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for 8 years with a non parole period of 5 years.

3. That robbery took place at the Dickson Branch of the Canberra Permanent Building Society.

4. On 29 May the applicant was employed as a customer service officer at that Branch.

5. At about 11.00 am she was at her teller station when she saw Melody McCure pass a piece of paper to Nick Gajic, who was at the station next to hers. She then saw Bennett point the pistol at Mr Gajic, and watched as Mr Gajic handed over the money in his till. Bennett then pointed the gun at her and said, "You too". She handed over the money, while she tried to activate a security camera with her knee.

6. Bennett left the Branch. She was in the manager's office trying to ring for help when he came back for the demand note. She could see him trying to get into the office where there were thousands of dollars on the table which had just been delivered by Brambles. She was terrified until he left again.

7. With the others she stayed to count money and make a statement to the police, before being taken to lunch, and then going home.

8. She was shaking and tense. Later in the afternoon she went to visit her boyfriend, who was not very supportive.

9. She was unable to sleep. Her sleep disturbance lasted about 6 months.

10. She went back to work on the Wednesday, and attended a debriefing session with the staff members on the Thursday. That experience if anything did more harm than good because one of the rules was that they were not allowed to express their anger towards their employer for what they perceived as its failure to protect them. She took the rest of the week off work.

11. When she returned to work she was tired and tense, and fearful of any customer behaviour that even appeared suspicious. She was obsessive about security at home, and would not go out alone at night. Her appetite and weight varied, and she developed an exacerbation of a stress related eczema on her arms and hands.

12. Dr Berenson, who had been her general practitioner since 1976, saw her first about the robbery on 21 June 1991. Her complaints to him were of nightmares, sleep disturbance, episodes of depression and agitation. He counselled her, but even after six months reported that she was still distressed.

13. At the beginning of November 1990 she had to attend Court for the proceedings against Denning, which caused her symptoms to flare up.

14. Shortly afterwards she saw Dr Veness, at the suggestion of her solicitor. He noted complaints of pain in the back and neck and headaches, in addition to the symptoms that she had reported to Dr Berenson. Dr Veness diagnosed a severe anxiety state, which had not abated when he saw her in November. One of the reasons for its persistence was that she was still working as a teller. He concluded:

"The opportune time for desensitization treatment has passed and the
symptoms are likely to become entrenched. If they show no lessening over
the next six months, Michelle Denny is almost certain to need psychiatric
treatment. She may need anxiolytic drugs and she will certainly need
psychotherapy. Once the anxiety state becomes entrenched, such therapy
may have to last for a period of up to two years. With the constant
anxiety and poor sleep, she is at considerable risk of developing a
depressive illness. If this happens she will certainly need psychiatric
treatment. As her symptoms are not abating, her prognosis is very
guarded. I could not say at this stage that I expect her to gradually

get

better."

15. Her family moved to Queensland, and in February 1991 she resigned from the Building Society and went to Queensland. She did not work for about eight months. Because of financial pressures she felt forced to take up employment as a customer service officer in a bank in Queensland. She is still stressed at work, and has begun a bookkeeping course so that she will eventually be able to leave the banking industry.

16. She still has sleeping problems and is anxious at work. She has not had any psychotherapy, but feels she is gradually getting better.

17. In view of the long lasting severity of her symptoms, I think that a proper award is limited by S.7 of the Act as it applies to this application. I therefore award $20,000 for her pain and suffering.

18. The travel costs of the applicant associated with bringing the application were agreed at $524.70.

19. I award compensation to the applicant in the sum of $20,524.70.