A former Canberra public servant who claims she was left psychologically damaged by witnessing a fatal industrial accident in the city 30 years ago, has lost another bid for compensation.
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Marina Tsiamis says she was riding on the roof of a lift in a government office building in Woden on December 14, 1981 with two elevator technicians when one of the men, Ian MacKenzie, was crushed to death.
The Sydney woman said her various mental illnesses, including post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia had sprung from her witnessing the tragic death of the 26-year-old technician, and launched a bid 30 years after the incident for compensation from federal workplace insurer Comcare. But the Federal Court has dismissed her latest appeal against Comcare's refusal to pay out, with Justice Geoffrey Flick upholding an earlier appeal by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal that the Commonwealth government was not liable for Ms Tsiamis' problems.
The former clerical worker said she had befriended the two lift technicians while they worked at Scarborough House in 1981 and that she rode on top of the lift on several occasions before the accident of December 16.
Ms Tsiamis said she believed she was going about her duties, delivering documents between floors, when she was riding on top of the lift.
But the tribunal found there were serious doubts about whether she was on top of the lift when Mr McKenzie met his accident and even if she was present, the incident was not likely to have caused her mental problems. Ms Tsiamis has consistently alleged to the tribunal and the Federal Court that the surviving technician, former Otis lifts worker Robert O'Shea, ''lied'' by saying she was not present on top of the lift but Justice Flick noted the technician had not been asked any questions about a third person present when the accident occurred.
The original tribunal hearing was told Ms Tsiamis had led a colourful life since 1981, including a stint in the all-female Sydney show band The Debutantes in the 1980s.
By the late 1990s, however, she had taken to drugs, attempted to overdose using heroin and pills in 1999 and was first admitted to a psychiatric hospital in 2002.
The tribunal heard evidence from three psychiatrists that it was more likely that her drug abuse during the 1990s was the cause of her psychiatric problems.
Justice Flick upheld the AAT's original position that it could not be satisfied that Ms Tsiamis was on the lift when Mr McKenzie died and even if she was, no ''causal connection'', could be established between the accident and her mental health problems.
He dismissed Ms Tsiamis' appeal and ordered her to pay Comcare's costs.