When the ACT government switched from the traditional compulsory third party insurance scheme to a new scheme in 2018, it promised to be fairer for everyone.
But not, it seems, for Gary Wiggins.
Two months ago, Mr Wiggins was making a slow turn with the green arrow signal off Southern Cross Drive in Belconnen, when his Mazda was hit from behind by another car at high speed.
The driver of the other car was a 15-year-old unlicensed driver, in a stolen Jeep on the wrong side of the road.
The impact slammed the Mazda into a light pole.
Gary Wiggins was hospitalised with fractures to his C2, C3 and C4 vertebrae. After surgery, he spent weeks on his back in hospital.
After his release, the young offender reoffended again within days. Last month he clocked up his fifth court appearance for motor vehicle theft and related offences.
Meanwhile, Garry Wiggins' life had changed forever. He has two metal rods, two plates and five screws to stabilise his neck. His neck movement is hugely limited and he is in constant pain.
A former concretor, Mr Wiggins had been on a disability pension since his right bicep was separated in an accident. To keep himself engaged and involved with the horse racing industry he loved, he was a part-time strapper for Gratz Vella, rising regularly before dawn to be with the horses at the Canberra Racecourse.
But that's all over now. He now spends most of his days sleeping. He has lost his independence. It's an awful outcome for a once-active man.
"I miss the horses and the people," he said.
His short walks are cautious as a minor slip or fall could snap his neck. Driving a car is out of the question.
Since he was completely blameless, it could be assumed that the compulsory payments by all motorists linked to their registration would provide generous support and assistance.
But he has received no immediate need payment, nothing for his pain and suffering and has been told that there is such a huge backlog under the victims of crime financial assistance that he could be waiting 12 months before his case is even assessed.
Mr Wiggins' 84-year-old mother, Brenda, has helped navigate the maze of bureaucracy and paperwork after the crash but it's been a complicated process for the family, and ultimately the defined benefits rested purely in the hands of the insurer.
According to a statement from the ACT government, the Motor Accident Injuries Commissioner has the responsibility to inquire into "any complaints received about the processes followed by insurers when handling an injured person's MAI application".
There is no scope for the Commissioner to independently assess cases, nor review them for fairness. Mr Wiggins is living at home with his elderly parents, and now enormously dependent on them.
Mr Wiggins was grateful for his expert medical care, but his mother said the system is broken and wondered where all the insurance goes, when entitled victims like her son have been cut adrift.
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