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British police trainer wins payout over Sri Lanka Tsunami stress
Jun 23, 201411:49 PM
A British police trainer who identified bodies in Sri Lanka following the 2004 Tsunami disaster has won a £400,000 settlement from his former employers after suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
David Collins, 45, worked 16-hour days managing a mortuary and described the experience as a “production line of bodies” following the huge wave which killed 228,000 people around the Indian Ocean.
When he returned to Britain, Mr Collins did not receive any de-brief from his employer, the National Police Improvement Agency, where he was a trainer in forensics, photography and crime scene preparation.
Since his experience in Sri Lanka recovering and identifying bodies, he developed mental health problems and had to leave his job.
He is now receiving therapy for PTSD.
Mr Collins, from Consett, County Durham, said: “While I am pleased that I was able to go to Sri Lanka and help support them during the country’s time of need following the Tsunami disaster, the resulting illness I have suffered because of the lack of support from my previous employers has ruined my career and turned my life upside down.
“Nothing prepared me for my time out there.
“It’s a horrible image but it was like a production line of bodies that we were working on 16 hours a day and while I didn’t realise it at the time, it had a massive impact on me psychologically.
“When I got back I was very obsessively organised and wouldn’t do normal things like watching the news.
“After a couple of months back in the UK I was told that I would get a de-brief but it never happened and everything just never seemed the same.”
Before his deployment PTSD had been identified in a risk assessment but there was no de-brief on his return to the UK.
He instructed Irwin Mitchell solicitors and he has won a settlement with his former employers after they admitted they breached the duty of care they owed him, by not referring him to occupational health.
During the first two weeks in Sri Lanka, Mr Collins was working with a police team who were not forensically trained so had to do most of the work, photographing and fingerprinting bodies as well as storing them and moving them. - Belfast Telegraph
