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.
00:11One 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.
00:19In 2019 he was diagnosed with Graves disease, an autoimmune condition which causes bulging eyes and a swollen neck.
00:28His psychologists attributed the diagnosis to work-induced stress and under their advice his entire thyroid gland was removed in 2023.
00:38But when he put in a claim for the $6,000 surgery bill with the police's insurer, EML, it was denied.
00:46I've lost my career, my livelihood, my health and my future is battling EML.
00:50The 56-year-old took his fight to the Personal Injury Commission where EML relied on the opinion of a doctor
00:57who never consulted or examined the former officer but rather read his medical records.
01:03EML's doctor suggested Mr Watts was not markedly stressed leading up to his 2019 diagnosis.
01:10A claim which contradicted notes from his treating doctor that same year about his severe anxiety, lethargy and depression.
01:19The pressure they put on you is just immense.
01:21More than a year after the claim was first lodged, the Personal Injury Commission ordered EML to cover Mr Watts' surgery bill.
01:29The tribunal found that submissions from the insurer's doctor were brief, unclear and based upon an assumption not supported by evidence.
01:39In a statement, EML told the ABC it was unable to comment on individual claims.
01:45You shouldn't have to deal with that but that's the way you're treated as a police officer in this state.
01:49We 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.
01:59A call to minimise harm for those who were employed to do the same.
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