By GEMMA JONES and LILLIAN SALEH
CHILDREN of Waterfall train disaster victims have been subjected to "cruel" barrages by psychologists in RailCorp's protracted compensation process, which has left one widow struggling to raise three boys alone.
More than three years after the train crash, which killed seven and injured 40, a Daily Telegraph investigation has found some victims' families are yet to receive compensation promised by then-premier Bob Carr.
One widow was told an occupational therapist would have to come into her home to assess how badly she and her three young sons were affected by their father's death.
A second was asked to take her teenage daughters to a RailCorp-appointed psychologist but the experience left them so traumatised that she was forced to abandon the counselling.
Another woman, who survived with critical injuries but lost her husband in the crash, has settled with RailCorp but said she received just $40,000 for his death because he was a pensioner.
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"It's not much for a life," she told The Daily Telegraph.
When the 6.24am South Coast service derailed and slammed into a rock wall south of Waterfall on January 31, 2003, Mr Carr promised swift compensation to victims' families after it was found the train's brake system had failed.
Christine Ludmon, who was four weeks' pregnant with her third son when her husband Andrew died in the crash, said she felt RailCorp wanted her to give up on pursuing compensation.
"I have been told that William, my youngest son, may not be compensated because he was not there to experience the shock," Mrs Ludmon told The Daily Telegraph.
"How can they say he didn't experience it? He grew inside a grieving mother and was born into a world where his father was dead.
"I understand there is a legal process but when you are made to jump through hoops to prove your level of trauma it's not only degrading but an insult to not only us but to our loved ones."
She said part of the reason she was yet to receive compensation was that she felt she "lacks the strength to get the gloves on and fight RailCorp" while consumed with raising her three boys alone.
"Part of that not pushing is not wanting to have to go through all the difficult stuff," she said.
"After a session with a RailCorp-appointed psychologist, I was advised they wanted to send an occupational therapist into our home to observe us and assess how both the children and myself had been affected by Andrew's death."
Mere Hudson lost her husband Mark when her daughters were aged just 13 and 16 and while she understood RailCorp needed to be thorough, she stopped taking them to the RailCorp-appointed psychologist after one traumatic visit.
"They make them relive the whole thing," she said.
"They were so traumatised they got into the car and went to sleep, they were absolutely exhausted. That's when I said no more.
"The one thing that really gets to me is the trauma factor. You have to separate normal grief from trauma but having to subject the kids to that sort of psychological barrage when they are so vulnerable in normal circumstances -- it's cruel really."
A RailCorp spokesman yesterday said 61 of 78 claims had been settled.
"Because the tragedy has impacted so many families in different and complex ways some families are yet to finalise their claims to RailCorp," he said.
"But RailCorp continues to deal with these claims sensitively and with the aim of resolving them as quickly as possible.
"In the meantime RailCorp will continue to assist for medical and other necessary help ahead of the families being in a position to finalise their claims."
Three years on, survivors pay high price
CHRISTIANA Gruenbaum lost her husband in the Waterfall crash and very nearly died herself but RailCorp compensated her just $40,000 because he was a pensioner.
"That's how much they paid for his death," she said "It's not much for a life."
On the day of the 2003 Waterfall
tragedy, Mrs Gruenbaum and husband James Ritchie were travelling to Wollongong to see their seven-year-old granddaughter Sariah.
Mrs Gruenbaum suffered severe head injuries and was on life support for 11 days. She will never return to work as a nurse.
For her own injuries and to cover medical expenses, Mrs Gruenbaum received $700,000, which was whittled down to $300,000 after legal fees and medical bills.
Vulnerable and without her husband, she recently lost her home because she invested her money with financial advisers who lost it.
Survivor Hany Beshay was also unhappy with the compensation process.
"I was sitting with four friends. One of them was my girlfriend. She had seven fractures in her spine," he said.
"I look at her and thank God she is still alive. She still struggles. They keep sending her from doctor to doctor and making her go over it over and over again."
Gareth Redshaw, 22, reported the crash to triple-0 but was accused of making hoax calls by an operator and said he "grew up in a day."
Lawyer Melinda Griffiths, who represented 12 of the Waterfall survivors, said many were "backed into a corner by the State Government".
She said because many survivors were not eligible for compensation the Government saved itself embarrassment by assessing claims under the Civil Liability Act, resulting in low to mid-range payouts
Minister Washes Hands of Victims
Barry O'Farrell MP
Deputy NSW Liberal Leader, Shadow Minister for Transport, Shadow Minister for Waterways
“Respect for safety, and respect for our loyal rail commuters, is paramount.”
John Watkins 7/2/06
“The public has a right to know whether RailCorp and the Government is moving fast enough,” John Watkins 23/2/05
It is obscene that, at a time Labor is spending $1 million on blatantly political CityRail television advertisements, the families of the victims of the Waterfall rail disaster are still awaiting compensation, according to Shadow Transport Minister Barry O’Farrell.
“Despite repeated promises of ‘swift’ compensation payments, these families have been seriously let down by the State Government,” Mr O’Farrell said.
“No one in their position should have to battle bureaucracy for so long to receive fair compensation payments,” he said.
“These payments are long overdue and these families should, by now, have been free to get on with their lives.
Mr O’Farrell said Transport Minister, John Watkins, had to accept responsibility for the delays.
“Mr Watkins’ seems to have forgotten the pain and suffering the families of the Waterfall victims experienced,” Mr O’Farrell said.
“It’s unbelievable that neither he nor his personal office seemed to be aware of the delays.
“It is all the more inexcusable given repeated assurances from the Labor Government that families would be ‘swiftly compensated’.
“Regrettably once again people are experiencing the enormous gulf between what this Government says it will do, and what actually happens,” Mr O’Farrell said.
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