Former Ten political reporter Tegan George has reached a settlement in her case against the network after claiming she suffered severe trauma after bushfire reporting.
Daily Mail Australia understands Ms George finally reached an undisclosed settlement this month after being on sick leave for more than two years.
The former Canberra-based reporter, 39, sued the network in the ACT Supreme Court for negligence and breach of duty in care, claiming she was left suicidal and struggling with alcohol addiction after reporting on the deadly 2019-2020 NSW South Coast bushfires.
She reported suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and nightmares and turned to alcohol after witnessing scenes of dead livestock killed in the blaze and terrified families vacating their homes.
George said the trauma of the bushfires in Bega, Bermagui, Merimbula and Cobargo which she covered between January 1-5 in 2020 wrecked her mental health and in turn her career.
She alleged she was ‘required’ to file a distressing report on a father and son who died while trying to protect their dairy farm from fire.
She also witnessed a panic-stricken local threaten to start shooting at others during a row over fuel as they desperately tried to escape the flames, court documents revealed.
George alleged that TV bosses made her drive into danger zones at the height of the crisis as ash was falling from the sky.
Tegan George says the trauma of the bushfires in Bega, Bermagui, Merimbula and Cobargo which she covered between January 1-5 in 2020 wrecked her mental health and career
George alleged TV bosses ordered her to drive into danger zones at the height of the fire crisis despite safety fears and ash falling from the black skies above her
She claimed she and a colleague ignored an instruction from news chiefs in Canberra to drive into Bermagui which had already been evacuated due to the imminent danger.
But they still had to zigzag through remote backroads to try to reach safety – and never knew if their course would leave them trapped by fire, she alleged.
She said Ten failed in its duty of care by not giving her adequate training in advance of being sent out to cover the blazes, failing to minimise the risk of injury and failing to identify the risk to her health and safety.
Her legal action stated she could not sleep after the assignment, struggles to concentrate or focus her attention, has ‘numbness on the left hand side of her body’ and at one point had to be admitted to full-time psychiatric care.
‘A reasonable person would have seen a person of normal fortitude might suffer a recognised psychiatric illness if reasonable care was not taken,’ the lawsuit alleged.
‘But for the [trauma], she would not have developed the psychological response to subsequent workplace events that she ultimately did – which culminated in her being George said the trauma left her ‘intermittently incapacitated for work from February 27, 2020 and then totally incapacitated for work since June 7, 2021’.
Ten’s defence in the civil case denied all allegations of negligence and said George’s claim relies on the ‘benefit of hindsight’.
It added: ‘No contemporaneous “warning signs” were reasonably apparent to the defendant.’
Ten news reporter Tegan George was left suicidal and turned to booze after she was traumatised by the devastating 2019-20 bushfires
She and a colleague had to dodge flames by zigzagging through remote backroads to try to reach safety – and never knew if they were driving into an inferno
Her settlement comes ahead of a civil trial over her claims of sexual discrimination against the network, which is now set to begin on February 3 next year, more than three years after first lodging her claim.
An expanded statement of claim filed with the Federal Court claimed that the network breached the Sex Discrimination Act because she was required to work in an environment that was hostile to women.
Lifeline 13 11 14
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk