A former New South Wales police officer with post-traumatic stress disorder had his mental health incorrectly challenged by an insurance doctor who had never spoken to him. Adam Watts’ decided to take on the force's insurer after it denied his surgery claim. But says the year-long battle put him under immense pressure. An experienced workers compensation lawyer believes the system is not set up to support officers once they leave the force.
00:00Adam Watts was a New South Wales police officer for 17 years before he medically retired with PTSD in 2012.
00:12One of the first jobs I did was a young guy that gassed himself in the car and then the mother wanted answers and I had no answers to give her.
00:20But life after the force has been anything but easy.
00:24In 2019 he was diagnosed with Graves disease, an autoimmune condition which causes bulging eyes and a swollen neck.
00:33His psychologists attributed the diagnosis to work-induced stress and under their advice his entire thyroid gland was removed in 2023.
00:43But when he put in a claim for the $6,000 surgery bill with the police's insurer, EML, it was denied.
00:50I've lost my career, my livelihood, my health and my future is battling EML.
00:55The 56-year-old took his fight to the Personal Injury Commission where EML relied on the opinion of a doctor who never consulted or examined the former officer but rather read his medical records.
01:07EML's doctor suggested Mr Watts was not markedly stressed leading up to his 2019 diagnosis.
01:14A claim which contradicted notes from his treating doctor that same year about his severe anxiety, lethargy and depression.
01:23EML also claimed the jury was still out on whether stress could cause Graves disease but conceded there was references in medical literature linking stress as a potential cause for 70 years.
01:37The pressure they put on you is just immense.
01:39More than a year after the claim was first lodged, the Personal Injury Commission ordered EML to cover Mr Watts' surgery bill.
01:47The tribunal found that submissions from the insurer's doctor were brief, unclear and based upon an assumption not supported by evidence.
01:57In a statement, EML told the ABC it was unable to comment on individual claims.
02:03You shouldn't have to deal with that but that's the way you're treated as a police officer in this state.
02:07It's probably a tougher job now.
02:09Workers' compensation lawyer Shane Butcher has represented dozens of former officers seeking compensation from New South Wales Police.
02:17He says these types of disputes only delay their recovery.
02:21We put these people in harm's way to protect us as a society and we have no system in place to ensure that they're looked after when they go into the workers' compensation system.
02:31A call to minimise harm for those who are employed to do the same.
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