Virgin Australia mental health/insurance issues
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Virgin Australia mental health/insurance issues
No special knowledge of this, just happened to stumble across it.
If true, it seems to raise a number of very significant issues.
https://www.theklaxon.com.au/home/su...or-three-years
If true, it seems to raise a number of very significant issues.
https://www.theklaxon.com.au/home/su...or-three-years
Without trivialising this poor man's illness, this situation calls to mind the writing of Joseph Heller:
"You mean there's a catch?"
"Sure there's a catch," Doc Daneeka replied. "Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn't really crazy."
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane, he had to fly them. If he flew them, he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to, he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
"Sure there's a catch," Doc Daneeka replied. "Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat duty isn't really crazy."
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane, he had to fly them. If he flew them, he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to, he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
This must be the first pilot ever to voluntarily ground himself for medical reasons. Everyone else I know lives in a state of terror worrying that they may be grounded for medical reasons.
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If you walked into a DAME’s office and said “Doc, I’m not fit fly, I’ve got a lot going on and I’ve got some mental health issues” it seems unlikely that the doc would stamp the extension and send you on your way.
I’m in no way diminishing anyone’s mental health issues, but there’s a fair bit about this that just doesn’t seem right.
There’s a lot that Virgin have done over the years that makes you shake your head in disbelief but from personal experience and anecdotally from several colleagues the care of people when they call their manager with a personal issue has been second to none.
I’m in no way diminishing anyone’s mental health issues, but there’s a fair bit about this that just doesn’t seem right.
There’s a lot that Virgin have done over the years that makes you shake your head in disbelief but from personal experience and anecdotally from several colleagues the care of people when they call their manager with a personal issue has been second to none.
There does seem to be a gap insomuch as he did not report his concerns directly to the CASA medical department if he was unhappy with the way his company AME was handling it.
But let's also give him the benefit of the doubt - If someone is suffering form significant Mental Health problems then their admin may not be entirely up to scratch. He didn't fly thus fulfilling his professional responsibility not to - anything else is just paperwork.
As for Loss of Licence Insurance - many / most policies do not cover some / any mental health conditions so i'm not surprised to hear that the insurance is refusing to pay out..
But it wouldn't have solved the loss of licence insurance problem though.
It also raises the question of Virgin's liability if, which praise the Lord didn't happen, Captain Boyd's airplane had ended up in a smoking hole. No legally licensed captain in command = no insurance one would have thought.
I wish Captain Boyd all the best in his endeavours to get the situation resolved and hope that he can just hang in there, getting the best possible help that the State can provide.
It also raises the question of Virgin's liability if, which praise the Lord didn't happen, Captain Boyd's airplane had ended up in a smoking hole. No legally licensed captain in command = no insurance one would have thought.
I wish Captain Boyd all the best in his endeavours to get the situation resolved and hope that he can just hang in there, getting the best possible help that the State can provide.
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But it wouldn't have solved the loss of licence insurance problem though.
It also raises the question of Virgin's liability if, which praise the Lord didn't happen, Captain Boyd's airplane had ended up in a smoking hole. No legally licensed captain in command = no insurance one would have thought.
I wish Captain Boyd all the best in his endeavours to get the situation resolved and hope that he can just hang in there, getting the best possible help that the State can provide.
It also raises the question of Virgin's liability if, which praise the Lord didn't happen, Captain Boyd's airplane had ended up in a smoking hole. No legally licensed captain in command = no insurance one would have thought.
I wish Captain Boyd all the best in his endeavours to get the situation resolved and hope that he can just hang in there, getting the best possible help that the State can provide.
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The psychiatrist found that Boyd was “well below the minimum standard of mental health for a pilot” recommending his license be revoked immediately.
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That's how I read it; especially the bit where the second opinion of the psychiatrist was sought
So, a specialist tells the Virgin docs to revoke the licence, but Virgin docs tell CASA he's OK. Maybe they (Virgin) should think themselves lucky they aren't dealing with a catastrophe.
So, a specialist tells the Virgin docs to revoke the licence, but Virgin docs tell CASA he's OK. Maybe they (Virgin) should think themselves lucky they aren't dealing with a catastrophe.
It seems like there’s a little more to the story.
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At what age does loss of licence cut out in the VARA award? Not that we would be able to see them but needless to say the Doctor's reports would be interesting on the matter.
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I truly hope that the pilot in the story eventually gets a massive payout! There seems to be no doubt at all as to who bears the blame for this situation and it is definitely not the pilot or even the regulator it seems! It seems that Virgin clearly knew what they were doing was wrong by failing to insure pilots in order to save a dollar and then acted accordingly to cover it up.
My question is why is CASA the safety regulator also not actively fighting on behalf of the pilot and what actions have they taken in order to make sure this kind of situation never happens again??
My question is why is CASA the safety regulator also not actively fighting on behalf of the pilot and what actions have they taken in order to make sure this kind of situation never happens again??
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My question is why is CASA the safety regulator also not actively fighting on behalf of the pilot and what actions have they taken in order to make sure this kind of situation never happens again??
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My understanding is that each and every doctor must be individually insured for medical negligence which of course is completely separate to loss of licence insurance and would also theoretically allow for much larger payouts. That would solve the problem at least as to whether Virgin is in administration or not.
The issue of continuing to fly is nothing to do with Virgin. It was a medical decision. The fact that Virgin paid the doctor's salary is irrelevant. Whether the doctor was correct in continuing to issue a medical would require an expert opinion based on his notes. So we cant decide, only postulate. Medical negligence would be very difficult yo get past a court because the standard against which the doctor would be compared would be a generalist occupational health doctor or a GP, not a consultant psychiatrist. In any case the pilot made money by continuing to fly, he didnt lose money, so there is no financial loss.
The pilot had a medical so Virgin was not at risk
Virgin may have failed to take out loss of license insurance in which case in the UK it would merely be a breech of contract and a matter for an employment tribunal or the county court for financial loss.
The pilot had a medical so Virgin was not at risk
Virgin may have failed to take out loss of license insurance in which case in the UK it would merely be a breech of contract and a matter for an employment tribunal or the county court for financial loss.