A former police officer who survived a catastrophic crash during a cannabis raid has secured a $2.3 million court victory after a 15-year legal battle that followed the loss of her career and arm.
Jillian Oliver had spent years in general duties policing before the life-changing incident in 2010 during an operation in Dingo Tops National Park.
Speaking on A Current Affair on Thursday night, she described how deeply she valued the job until tragedy struck.
“I just love being part of policing, being in the community. I loved being in general duties that you just didn’t know what was going to happen each day but you’ll be able to help somebody. It was great,” Ms Oliver told the program.
The accident happened during a cannabis eradication operation in November 2010, after officers seized 740 plants and loaded them onto a police ute driven by Jillian.
The overloaded vehicle lost traction on a dirt track and plunged down a steep embankment, stopping about 175 metres down the hill, deep in remote bushland.
“I knew at that stage I had done something to my right wrist,” she told ACA.
“ I couldn’t use it so I’d had to tuck it into my overalls and climb out.”
Surviving the crash was only the beginning of a long and painful medical ordeal for the former officer, who was also trying to manage life at home with two young children at the time.
“I had two young boys at the time, a seven and a five-year-old, and my hand was swollen … like a balloon. The color on it was shocking. I couldn’t touch it. It was that sensitive.”
Ms Oliver was later diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome, major depressive disorder and severe ongoing nerve pain. She was medically discharged a few years later, ending her policing career.
Workers’ compensation of less than $550,000 followed, despite her being told she would never be able to work again.
Six years after the crash, doctors amputated her arm after years of worsening symptoms, including swelling, blisters and pustules.
She said she lost more than her hand, explaining she also lost her career and the support network she once described as her “blue family”, a core part of her identity.
“I didn’t know who I was without that,” she said through tears.
Ms Oliver believed the organisation she served would stand by her, but instead became locked in a long court fight with NSW Police that she described as “pretty insulting at times”.
In court, lawyers argued she was responsible for the crash. Supporting her case was former NSW Police superintendent Paul Fehon.
“She was very diligent and she was a good police officer,” Mr Fehon said.
“Why put someone through further trauma after what was a very noticeable serious injury?”
Fifteen years after the accident, Judge Leonard Levy SC found NSW Police had breached its duty of care, ruling the risks of the operation were foreseeable and she should never have been placed in that situation. Ms Oliver was awarded $2.3 million.
Today, she lives on a country property and focuses on recovery and has also founded an art group supporting first responders with PTSD, which she said has helped keep her going.
“I just enjoy it, … and the gratitude of I’m lucky to still be here and enjoy what I’ve got.”
Despite the physical injuries, she said losing her career hurt the most.
“(I) loved it, loved being able to teach younger constables and thought I was a part of something that would look after me.”
