Former NSW police officer wins $2.3m after cannabis raid crash led to amputation
A former police officer who survived a freak accident during a marijuana raid has won a $2.3 million court victory after a 15-year legal battle that left him losing his career and his arm.
Jillian Oliver spent years as a general duty police officer before the life-changing incident during an operation in Dingo Tops National Park in 2010.
Speaking on A Current Affair on Thursday night, she described how much she valued the job until tragedy struck.
Ms Oliver told the programme: “I loved being part of policing, I loved being out in the community. I loved being on general missions every day where you didn’t know what was going to happen but you could help someone. It was great.”
The crash occurred during a marijuana eradication operation in November 2010, after officers seized 740 plants and loaded them into a police vehicle driven by Jillian.
The overloaded vehicle lost traction on the dirt road, rolled down a steep embankment and came to rest deep in a remote bush area, approximately 175 meters down the hill.
“I knew at that stage that I had done something to my right wrist,” he told ACA. Since I couldn’t use it, I had to put it in my overalls and go out.”
Surviving the crash was only the beginning of a long and painful medical ordeal for the former police officer, who was trying to juggle life at home with his two young children at the time.
“I had two little boys at the time, seven and five, and my hand was swollen… like a balloon. The color on it was shocking. I couldn’t touch it. It was so tender.”
Ms Oliver was later diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome, major depressive disorder and ongoing severe nerve pain. He was medically discharged a few years later, ending his police career.
Even though he was told he would never work again, his workers’ compensation was less than $550,000.
Six years after the accident, doctors amputated his arm after symptoms such as swelling, blisters and pustules worsened over the years.
The artist, who said that he had lost more than he had, also explained that he had lost his career and the support network that he described as the “blue family”, which was once a fundamental part of his identity.
“I didn’t know who I was without this,” she said through tears.
Ms Oliver believed the organization she served would stand by her but instead became embroiled in a lengthy court battle with NSW Police which she described as “quite humiliating at times”.
In court, lawyers argued that he was responsible for the accident. Backing his case was former NSW Police chief Paul Fehon.
“He was a very hard worker and a good police officer,” Mr. Fehon said.
“Why would we subject someone to further trauma after a very obvious serious injury?”
Fifteen years after the accident, Judge Leonard Levy SC found that NSW Police had breached its duty of care, ruling that the risks of the operation were foreseeable and that he should never have been put in such a situation. Ms. Oliver was awarded $2.3 million.
Today he lives on a country estate and focuses on recovery, and he also started an arts group supporting first responders with PTSD, which he said helps him keep going.
“I just enjoy it and I’m grateful that I’m lucky to still be here and enjoy what I have.”
Despite the physical injuries, he said losing his career hurt the most.
“(I) loved it, loved being able to teach young police officers, and thought I was a part of something that would take care of me.”
