Policeman sues after human flesh fell into his mouth

An Australian policeman suffered psychiatric injury from attending traumatic events including an incident in which human flesh fell into his mouth, a judge has been told.

The incident occurred in 1992 when Christopher Cavanagh was required to recover pieces of the body of a worker who had fallen into a garbage shredder at a Sydney railway station.

While the incident led to his being medically discharged in 1994, the one-time NSW Police Rescue Squad officer had attended other horrific scenes, including the 1977 Granville rail disaster and a death scene where dogs had eaten part of a man.

Mr Cavanagh, now 58, of Northmead in Sydney's west, wants to take NSW Supreme Court damages action against the state, claiming he suffered psychiatric injury as a result of its negligence.

In his affidavit, he said he had been required to recover each piece of the man's body and try to lay them out. "At one stage, a piece of the body fell into my mouth, which made me ill," he said.

Although he told the debriefing officers of his concerns and need for blood tests, he said nothing was arranged and he had to organise them himself. The judge reserved his decision to an unspecified date.