A man who suffered depression after he was raped in 2007 has lost his long fight for compensation.
The Auckland District Court has ruled he is ineligible for Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) cover, because he left his job before seeking treatment.
After being raped in 2007, the man - whose name is suppressed - began suffering psychic shock, post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.
He was caught smoking marijuana at work and lost his job.
"That was on a Friday, just through a really slow day and then, just being in not the best of moods and not getting much sleep at the stage, I just decided to throw all care out the window and I just lit up a joint," he told the court.
He received cover from ACC for just over a year, before it, and his entitlements to treatment, were cancelled.
ACC said he did not seek treatment until two weeks after losing his job, so was not an earner and therefore was not entitled to ongoing compensation.
It ruled a mental injury started when a person first sought treatment.
Read the full decision here.
