The phone call that saved a life: How a clinic doctor’s final request stopped his murder after a crazed gunman dissatisfied with his workers comp fired five shots at him
- Doctor Andrew Taylor was shot by Zuber Vukovic back in April 1999 in a clinic
- He received five wounds in his hip, knee, shoulder, chest, stomach and backside
- Vukovic was angry with workers compensation payout and was seeking revenge
A doctor who was shot five times by a man seeking revenge for his compensation package says his ordeal only ended when he asked to make a phone call.
Doctor Andrew Taylor was making his way to the waiting room of the Hastings Clinic in Victoria in April 1999 when he saw Zuber Vukovic pulling a gun.
The first thing Dr Taylor thought was, ‘Oh no, he’s going to kill himself’, but things took a turn when Vukovic instead pointed his weapon at the doctor.
Five shots were fired into Dr Taylor’s right hip, left knee, shoulder, chest, lower stomach and into his backside, The Age reported.
The first two shots were fired into the body parts where Vukovic had been injured in his workplace accident.
Doctor Andrew Taylor (pictured) was shot by Zuber Vukovic in April 1999 in a clinic he was working at
‘Zuber, you’ve killed me. Can I please phone my family and say goodbye?’ Dr Taylor asked the shooter.
Dr Taylor told The Age he was ‘trying to buy just one minute’, in the hopes the request would allow his attacker to see him as a person, not an unknown enemy.
Rather than grant the doctor his phone call, Vukovic lay on the floor next to him and shot himself in the chest.
The pair were both transported to hospital by air ambulance, but Dr Taylor had passed out by the time they arrived.
He underwent emergency surgery where he was given 17 units of blood in 40 minutes.
Dr Taylor underwent emergency surgery where he was given 17 units of blood in 40 minutes
Vukovic was seeking compensation for his long-term injuries from car and work incident and happened to convince himself that he will win a $7 million payout (pictured the clinic he shot Dr Taylor in)
Vukovic was seeking compensation for his long-term injuries from car and workplace incidents and had convinced himself that he would win a $7 million payout – to the point where he had started taking out massive loans against the expected payment.
He was awarded a measly $350,000, and blamed doctors, who he believed had understated his injuries, for the huge drop.
The 46-year-old was seeking revenge and on that fateful day in April 1999, he had decided to shoot the first doctor he saw.
Vukovic was charged with attempted murder but plead guilty to intentionally causing serious injury and sentenced to a minimum of four years, the publication reported.
Dr Taylor lives in constant fear that his attacker might come back one day and finish the job.
Every day he struggles through pain and suffering, the rehabilitation, and loss of income.
Despite the incident, he has no hard feelings against his shooter and said: ‘getting shot doesn’t hurt at all because I lived’.