Mum challenges ACC review: 'I just want Ethan to have a normal childhood'
By Paula Hulburt
A distraught mother is battling to keep her home and care for her son after the Accident Compensation Corporation slashed funding.
Sasha Barras' son Ethan, 11, needs 24-hour care.
The fed-up former hairdresser's lawyer has now lodged papers in the district court seeking a judicial review, challenging the legitimacy of the ACC needs assessment.
Barras is focusing on ACC's obligations under The Human Rights Act 1993 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of The Child.
It guarantees dignity and equity for children with disabilities. New Zealand was a signatory. Barras believes stonewalling by ACC means Ethan's rights under this provision are not being met.
The court action comes as she nears 18 months of asking for an urgent review.
The last review failed to focus on Ethan's physical problems caused by a botched surgery, she said.
'The cut in funding is devastating,' she said.
'The latest review was conducted differently from the prior two in that they focused almost exclusively on Ethan's autism and behaviour and spent almost no time reviewing his physical needs.'
The cut leaves them just $519 a week to live on and Barras has drained the savings she set aside for a house deposit.
It is not possible to pay both the rent and the associated costs of caring for Ethan, she said.
The Ilam resident has appealed for ACC to urgently review their decision which she said makes no sense and contradicts their earlier findings.
Specialists, including Ethan's paediatric surgeon, as well as the outcomes of two prior ACC reviews, show Ethan's medical needs have increased.
'I just want Ethan to have a normal childhood, he deserves to be a child,' Barras said.
Born on October 13, 2013 in Nelson Hospital, Ethan was four weeks premature. He has undergone countless surgeries for bowel problems.
A special tube was inserted into his abdomen in 2020, but he suffered a bowel perforation when the tube was damaged while being changed.
A stoma bag was fitted but has never worked properly, Barras said.
Ethan is covered in faecal matter several times a day and suffers from post traumatic stress disorder.
'A stoma is involuntarily activated 24hrs per day, 365 days a year, not between 10am to 2pm daily like the ACC assessor indicated,' Barras said.
'Nathan was an amazing, very placid, happy little boy that has known nothing but pain and discomfort over the last few years.
'Ethan has never had a friend or been to a birthday party. He has never been able to start school.'
The initial needs assessment by ACC found Ethan needed the highest level of care. Medical supplies such as dressings were funded and a carer from
Nurse Maude came in regularly to help.
Barras and Ethan were getting help from a psychologist but that has been stopped too.
She will not stop fighting on her son's behalf.
'I won't give up, Ethan's why I get up and fight for what's right.'
ACC deputy chief executive service delivery Michael Frampton said it is happy to work with Ethan's family to consider any new information.
'I'm very sorry to hear about Ethan's situation and the impact this is having on him and his family,' he said.
'A 2023 reassessment found that while his overall needs remained high, his injury-related needs had reduced.
'They asked for this decision to be independently reviewed, and the reviewer considered that the decision was correct. The matter has been appealed to the district court.
'ACC cannot provide support for pre-existing and underlying health conditions, but we do take this into account because it can impact the type of support the client needs for their injury.
'In Ethan's case, this meant funding additional behavioural support services.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
ACC urges caution in snow season
When it comes to snow-sport-related injuries, Otago is king of the mountain. Accident Compensation Corporation statistics show the region had 6697 snowboarding- and skiing-related injuries in 2024 — more than three times higher than Canterbury (2159), Auckland (1259) and Manawatū-Whanganui (1020). ACC injury prevention leader James Whitaker said overall, the corporation accepted 7632 skiing injuries, which came at a cost of $30 million to help people recover, and 5104 snowboarding injuries, which cost $14 million. "When winter comes around, many people head up the mountain and get into skiing or snowboarding after not doing it for a year, and this leads to accidents and injuries," he said. "If you're hitting the slopes, complete a good dynamic warm-up before you do your first run — that will get you ready for the fun day ahead. "You don't want to get injured on one of your first trips to the mountain and spend months on the couch while your mates are heading away every weekend." A loss of balance or personal control was the leading cause of injury ahead of a twisting movement, for both snowboarding and skiing, he said. The knees (2165) and shoulders (943) were the most injured body parts in skiing, while shoulders (875), knees (584) and hand/wrist (569) were the most injured body parts in snowboarding. The age group with the most snowboarding injuries was the 25-29 age group (926), and the 20-24 age group (785) had the most injuries for skiing. The Snow Safety Code urged snow-sport-lovers to know their limits, stop only in places where they could be seen, give others room and to protect themselves by wearing a helmet, obeying all signs and closures and taking regular rest breaks. Mr Whitaker also encouraged people to be considerate of others, especially during busy periods like the upcoming school holidays, when there would be less space. "New Zealand has some of the world's most beautiful places to ski and snowboard, and the start of the snow season is always an exciting time, but ease into it so you can enjoy the slopes throughout the winter season." The Remarkables skifield is expected to open this weekend, while Cardrona and Coronet Peak are expected to open on June 15.
1News
27-05-2025
- 1News
No-fault law sees tenant facing eviction after major knee surgery
Desmond Adams knew his upcoming knee surgery would be tough - weeks in recovery and months before he'd walk normally - but what he didn't expect was to be doing it all while facing eviction. A painter by trade, years of physical labour have taken a toll on the 52-year-old Hamiltonian. Scans in April 2024 revealed fractures in both knees, with overgrown bone that needed to be shaved. The bone was pressing into a tendon on his left side which needed to be cut and repaired. "My knees were poking out like nobody's business," Adams said. Post-operation, doctors told him to expect crutches for three weeks, a minimal amount of walking and no driving for at least six weeks. Full recovery was expected to take four to five months. ADVERTISEMENT Knowing how limiting this would be, he made sure to notify his landlord through his property manager well in advance, saying he notified them first in June last year and reminded them at every three-monthly inspection after that. "At my last inspection in March, I had also reminded them about my surgery," he said. "She said to me, 'Yes, you have mentioned that a lot, and we hope everything goes well'." Desmond's flat in Whitiora, Hamilton. (Source: Supplied) Just days on from that inspection, a letter arrived. Adams had been served a 90-day notice to vacate his Whitiora home. "I felt really gutted, angry, and frustrated. It was like, what's going on here? You guys have known about my surgery for a while, and now you're serving me with this? "How the heck do you expect me to look for a house in 90 days when I've got surgery, and then about four to five months in healing? I can't actually get out to look for houses in that time." He says he asked for an extension on the notice to give him more time to heal before trying to move. But he claims that wasn't granted. ADVERTISEMENT Recovery on pause The surgery went ahead as planned but with limited mobility and no ability to drive, Adams had to put his recovery on pause to begin house hunting. Desmond had to have overgrown bone shaved on both knees. (Source: Desmond Adams) He has had to rely on Driving Miss Daisy, the ACC-funded companion driving service, to attend property viewings. He's been to 15 so far. "It's a slow process," he said. "I've got 16 stairs to walk down, and then get into the car, go look at the house and then have to climb those 16 stairs again back to the house with two crutches." The house hunt has already come at a cost to his recovery and Adams said he "got a growling" from doctors when he went to his three-week check-up after the surgery. "They saw my knees were bruised, not just from the operation, but they could tell I'd been doing some walking on it. They said 'you're supposed to be resting', and I said 'I can't, I need to find a house'." ADVERTISEMENT Adams considered taking the matter to the Tenancy Tribunal to delay or set aside the eviction notice due to the severe hardship it would cause, but he abandoned this bid as under the legislation an eviction notice can only be challenged if it's deemed to be retaliatory. A landlord can serve an eviction with 90 days' notice without giving a reason. The property manager declined to comment when contacted by 1News. No-cause evictions Renters United president Zac Thomas blamed the reintroduction of no-cause evictions by the coalition Government in February. "When life knocks you down, the law now lets someone take the roof off too. This is exactly the kind of harm the government was told would happen." Renters United president Zac Thomas. (Source: Supplied) He described Desmond's situation as "crazy". ADVERTISEMENT "I think any New Zealander with half a heart would look at this and say 'this is not the society that we want to live in'." In a statement late last year, Housing Minister Chris Bishop said the reintroduction of no-cause evictions would "give landlords more confidence to offer homes to tenants who may otherwise have been considered too risky". "We've heard from many landlords that, without the backstop of 90-day 'no cause' terminations, they were unwilling to take a chance on a tenant who may, for example, not have perfect references or a steady 9-5 job."
RNZ News
27-05-2025
- RNZ News
Sexual assault survivor says ACC process is retraumatising victims
A woman who was sexually violated as a child says she needed to recount in detail what she suffered in order to be eligible for support from ACC. Photo: RNZ A woman who was sexually violated as a child says she has been further traumatised by the process of applying for support from ACC. Jenny, whose real identity cannot be revealed due to automatic name suppression, said she had been unable to work for more than 18 months due to stress as she went through the courts to hold her abuser to account for what he did to her in the 1970s. After she made a complaint to police about five years ago, the man who sexually violated her was last year convicted and jailed. But Jenny said she was left having to pick up the pieces of her life afterwards and to be eligible for support from ACC, she needed to recount in detail what she suffered. "After you've been through something like that, you're left with having to put your life back together. So there were a couple of ACC courses I would have liked to do to help rebuild my inner self and move on, but in order to access any of that I've had to go and do an assessment and my argument is ... the person I went against in court was put away in prison. So why do I have to re-explain myself?" Jenny said. "You've already got all my medical records and my history in your system. So why am I having to be retraumatised? I was really, really angry about this because it's only been a few months since my court case, so I'm already in a sensitive place. "After I actually did their initial assessment I had really bad trauma for about a week. It's just really unfair what they're putting us through." Jenny first disclosed the sexual assaults to ACC more than two decades ago and was told at the time she would never need to detail what she suffered again. "It was even worse because it was the first time I ever disclosed anything to anybody because it had always been a secret and it knocked me for a six. It really did," she said. But she had to relive it all again in an attempt to seek support while awaiting her abuser's trial. "I challenged my counsellor about this and I said 'why am I having to do this when you've already got records and I've already just been through a court case?' and she said 'because we need to hear it in your words'," Jenny said. "But 20 years ago, you heard it in my words. So why am I having to repeat it? I said I find this really triggering, but I wasn't listened to." A woman who was sexually violated as a child says it the details she was expected to disclose to ACC would be humiliating for anyone. Photo: Supplied The trauma of the process and the stress of the pending court date was too much. "They said I had to do an assessment first before they could support me and I said I'm not here to do an assessment, I just want someone to walk beside me that understands what going through the court process is and they refused to do that. So I walked away," she said. ACC said Jenny had a covered sensitive claim and was being supported in several ways. However, Jenny said despite completing the assessment months ago, she had not received financial support or loss of potential earnings. The details she was expected to disclose would be humiliating for anyone, she said. But it was especially problematic for survivors of sexual abuse. "I'll ask you to go and talk to a stranger and tell them how your sexual life is and explain what you did - and you would find that embarrassing. Well, that's what we have to do. We have to disclose what happened to us. So you can see how triggering it is. It's really hard work," Jenny said. ACC told RNZ there had been changes to its sensitive claims processes, so treatment better suited individuals' needs. But Jenny said she had seen little change. "They've put a change in because people are having to wait too long to see psychologists and psychiatrists and people are having to wait up to a year before they're seen. So half of the reason why these changes have come in is so people like myself are not getting retraumatised and yet it's worse," she said. ACC head of client recovery Thomas Ronan said ACC needed a fresh assessment to update its clinical understanding of Jenny's injuries, and it was also used to assess loss of potential earnings. "ACC provides support for anyone in Aotearoa New Zealand, who has experienced sexual abuse or assault here. ACC covers a mental injury caused by sexual violence not the sexual violence itself, which is why we need survivors to be assessed in order for us to determine cover, rather than use the documents provided to a court for criminal proceedings," Ronan said. "It doesn't matter if the sexual abuse or assault happened recently or a long time ago, survivors can access ACC support services whenever they're ready. All claims are treated on a case-by-case basis and what support ACC can provide can vary depending on the person and their injury." ACC acknowledges the process and time it takes to assess sensitive claims can be challenging for survivors. Photo: 123RF Ronan acknowledged the process and time it took to assess sensitive claims was "challenging for some survivors". "While we can't eliminate the assessment requirement completely, over the past three years we collaborated with providers, suppliers, sector groups, agencies and professional bodies to make significant changes to the sensitive claims service to improve the survivor experience. One of the key changes was streamlining the assessment process to make it easier for survivors to access support and treatment," he said. "Under the new sensitive claims service launched in December 2024, there are now two pathways to obtain cover. Depending on their clinical needs, we may be able to approve a claim for cover after the survivor completes a Cover and Well-being Plan. This will enable them to access treatment and support in a quicker way and they won't need a specialist cover assessment. If a survivor has more complex needs or requires financial support, they would need a specialist cover assessment. "We've also moved away from a one-size-fits-all approach towards a more holistic model that allows clients to work with their provider to create a recovery plan that will better meet their individual needs. "In addition, clients now have access to a broader range of support - not just talk therapy, but also support from other specialists, such as social workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses, speech language therapists, and dietitians. "Despite the improvements we've made to the service, there are capacity constraints in the mental health sector, which means some survivors may experience delays accessing treatment. We do have providers in the South Island but acknowledge there can be wait times to access these services." But Jenny said she understood the supports which might ultimately be available, but the hoops which survivors need to jump through to access them and the stress it caused was unnecessary. Months on she was still waiting for financial support and for ACC to acknowledge the role it had played in her trauma, she said. "I felt I wasn't listened to. I felt that I keep saying this is traumatising. You've already got the information. Why am I having to repeat myself. It was like I didn't have a voice," she said. "I had already been through the court system that ... came out as a conviction so they obviously can see something has happened. I should have been able to access ACC organisations that help support your mental health without having to do the assessment. "I've received no care." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
