The widow of a Vietnam veteran, who committed suicide during an investigation into his entitlements, has been given a second chance to sue the Commonwealth.
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The ACT Supreme Court on Friday granted Karen McColley leave to launch another bid for compensation over her husband's death.
Ex-serviceman Gary McColley received a disability support pension from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs from 1990 on the basis he was totally and permanently incapacitated.
The 57-year-old suffered from a psychiatric illness as a result of his service and had previously tried to commit suicide.
Veteran's Affairs received an anonymous tip-off that Mr McColley was not entitled to a pension in October 2006.
The tip-off didn't contain any details about why he shouldn't have received the payments.
The department told Mr McColley he was under investigation for possible fraud in connection with his entitlements and questioned him in April the following year.
He committed suicide in Queensland in the midst of the probe in July 2008.
Mr McColley was cleared after a posthumous review found he was entitled to the pension.
Following his death, Mrs McColley launched legal action and alleged Veterans' Affairs should not have investigated the report in the first place.
She claimed the manner in which the investigation was carried out made her husband's mental illness worse and and drove him to breaking point.
Mrs McColley tried to sue the Commonwealth, and said Veterans' Affairs had been negligent in looking into the tip-off, and also in the way they conducted the probe.
She argued her husband was psychologically vulnerable and there were ''unreasonable delays'' in the investigation.
Mr McColley was not kept informed about the probe's progress, had not been told what his rights were before he was questioned, and was not given details of the allegations, she said.
Her damages claim was thrown out of the ACT Supreme Court in 2012 on the grounds there was no reasonable cause of action.
The court ruled Veterans' Affairs did not owe Mr McColley a duty of care.
Mrs McColley appealed that decision on a technicality and put forward fresh evidence to support her argument the department breached its duty.
The full bench of the ACT Supreme Court granted permission for Mrs McColley to sue.
The court ruled there were doubts over the initial decision and the case should go ahead in the interest of justice.
* If you or someone you know needs support in a crisis, call Lifeline on 131 114. MensLine offers 24-hour confidential support to men on 1300 78 99 78.
