He explained he was driving his work truck on the Christchurch Southern Motorway to get a service when he saw someone walking along the road.
The man turned and looked him in the eye, ran towards him and dove head-first at the truck, Jamieson recalled.
“He just rolled like a rag doll along the concrete,” he said.
“I was just in sheer shock.”
Police confirmed they attended a crash involving a vehicle and a pedestrian, who died, on May 16. They said inquiries into the circumstances of the crash were ongoing and a coroner was yet to rule on the cause of death.
Jamieson had hoped the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) would have responded more quickly to his requests for financial support.
He said he tried to go back to work, but couldn’t cope with it. Financial concerns were now adding to the stress caused by the event.
“When I sleep, it comes back. It’s just so much,” Jamieson said.
ACC is a no-fault state insurance scheme that provides cover to those who suffer injuries at work.
While ACC had paid for Jamieson to see a psychologist, it hadn’t considered those sessions to be assessments of his condition to see if he qualified for compensation.
The day after the Herald contacted ACC on July 7 to ask about Jamieson’s situation, he was booked in for an official assessment.
ACC’s head of service operations, Phil Riley, said that if the report confirmed he suffered a mental injury as a result of the event, and this impacted his ability to work, ACC could provide Jamieson with weekly compensation to cover his lost wages. Payments would be backdated.
Asked why Jamieson was only assessed on July 8, when he had seen the same psychologist who carried out the assessment on five prior occasions, ACC said, “Mental injury assessments can take time and the pre-cover sessions we fund are intended to provide immediate support while we gather the additional medical information required to undertake a mental injury assessment.
“This assessment is longer than a standard session and is necessary to determine if the claim will be accepted.”
Riley acknowledged the process took time and could be frustrating.
“We will provide Josh with an update on his claim as soon as we can.”
Jamieson was grateful to both his partner and his boss for supporting him while he waited to receive support from ACC.
Where to get help:
• Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: Call 0800 376 633 or text 234
• What’s Up: Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)
• 0800 Anxiety Helpline: 0800 269 4389 (0800 ANXIETY). This service is confidential and free of charge. Open 24/7.
• Depression helpline: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)• Helpline: Need to talk? Call or text 1737
• Aoake te Rā (Bereaved by Suicide Service): Call 0800 000 053
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
Jenée Tibshraeny is the Herald‘s Wellington business editor, based in the parliamentary press gallery. She specialises in government and Reserve Bank policymaking, economics and banking.
