The Transport Accident Commission (TAC) is refusing to compensate a young woman who narrowly avoided being struck during James Gargasoulas’ 2017 Bourke St rampage, arguing her mental health struggles are “unrelated” to the attack.
Gargasoulas, described as a “murderous psychopath,” killed six people and injured 27 when he ploughed through Melbourne’s CBD. He is serving life imprisonment with a minimum 46-year non-parole period.
Prison sources say his psychopathic and delusional state has shown slight improvement since undergoing electro-shock therapy last year.
Among those caught up in the tragedy was then-12-year-old Mahli Skordos, who was in “close proximity” to pedestrians killed and injured. Now 21, she suffers chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety.
Her lawyers, Angela Sdrinis Legal, say she has been unable to continue her university studies and is unlikely to manage full-time work, estimating her future loss of income at nearly $670,000.
However, in its most recent defence, the TAC claims her conditions were “pre-existing and unrelated” to witnessing the Bourke St massacre.
A spokeswoman for her lawyers said: “Our client was just twelve years old when she witnessed the massacre that unfolded on Bourke Street and narrowly avoided being struck by a car driven by James Gargasoulas… The incident has had a profound impact on her adolescence and early adult life.”
The TAC has been repeatedly criticised for rejecting claims by so-called “bystanders” of the Bourke St tragedy. Of 145 claims, 110 were for mental injuries, with $19 million in total compensation paid.
Source: Herald Sun.
