Senator Linda Reynolds wants Brittany Higgins to pay the cost of her medical bills, claiming the “intense questioning” she faced in the wake of allegations her former employee was raped in Parliament House exacerbated a previously undiagnosed heart condition.
The West Australian senator claimed in documents filed in her defamation case against Ms Higgins and her husband David Sharaz that Ms Higgins’ actions were the catalyst for her worsening condition and the cause of her ending up in hospital.
The defamation case centres on social media posts by Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz which Senator Reynolds says suggest she mishandled the rape allegation.
The senator further claims the posts suggest she engaged in questionable conduct during Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial, which was called off due to jury misconduct before the charge against him was dropped.
In documents released by the Supreme Court of Western Australia, Senator Reynolds amended her statement of claim against her former staffer to allege she had suffered physical and mental harm as a result of Ms Higgins’ actions.
Senator Reynolds says she had a “pre-existing but undiagnosed heart condition” and had been diagnosed with mild anxiety and depression.
Her health condition “seriously deteriorated” following the Project’s broadcast of Ms Higgins’ rape allegation, the “negative national media coverage and intense questioning by the Labor Party in the Senate” that followed.
Senator Reynolds claims in court documents that these events led her to suffer from “severe anxiety and severe heart pain” before she was hospitalized on February 23, 2021.
Senator Linda Reynolds (pictured) wants Brittany Higgins to pay for her medical expenses
Brittany Higgins (second from left) at dinner with Linda Reynolds (left) in Perth in 2019
Senator Reynolds was referred to a psychologist and a psychiatrist, with the latter noting that she was “frail and unfit to work” on March 2, 2021.
Senator Reynolds further stated that her psychiatrist diagnosed her with “emotional dysregulation, dysphoria and anxiety as a result of recent occupational pressure.”
Sen. Reynolds was also diagnosed by her consulting cardiologist with microvascular disease, which requires her to take two forms of cardiac medication daily “for the remainder of her life,” the documents state.
Senator Reynolds said she continues to see her psychologist “periodically” and remains under the care of her cardiologist.
She has asked Ms Higgins to pay her medical costs totalling $4249.11 from 2 March 2021 to 16 June 2024, including consultation bills as low as $3.40, to a CT scan costing $504.15.
Brittany Higgins (pictured) also claims her former employer’s involvement in Channel 7’s Spotlight programme about the alleged rape “undermined” the trauma Ms Higgins experienced while working for the senator’s political campaign in Perth.
Her updated medical claims follow months of legal wrangling over allegations that Ms Higgins “acted maliciously” when she created certain social media posts featuring her husband, and had intentionally set out to harm her and the federal government.
In her amended defence released by the court, Ms Higgins claims Senator Reynolds had shared “confidential correspondence” with The Australian newspaper that included an internal email from a government department marked “sensitive: personal” relating to the multimillion-dollar payout Ms Higgins received in compensation after the alleged rape.
The email was later mentioned in an article published by The Australian detailing how the federal agency responsible for overseeing the welfare of parliamentary staff handled the rape allegations.
Ms Higgins alleged in court papers that Senator Reynolds continued to send documents to The Australian “from time to time” after February 2023, including the senator’s correspondence with Commonwealth lawyers in relation to the Sofronoff inquiry into the ACT’s criminal justice system.
Brittany Higgins (pictured) claimed in her defence that Senator Reynolds leaked private government emails about her compensation to the media.
Ms Higgins also claims her former employer’s involvement in Channel 7’s Spotlight programme about the alleged rape “undermined” the trauma Ms Higgins experienced while working for the senator’s political campaign in Perth.
In court documents, Ms Higgins claims the senator engaged in a campaign of harassment against her by providing “confidential information to the media” about mediation and complaints to the Commonwealth, as well as “directly or indirectly” questioning her personal injury claim against the Commonwealth.
Earlier this year in Federal Court, Judge Michael Lee ruled that he was satisfied on a civil basis (which is different from a criminal basis) that Ms Higgins was raped by Bruce Lehrmann.
Mr Lehrmann had filed a defamation lawsuit against Network 10 and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over The Project’s reporting on the alleged rape in 2021.
Mr Lehrmann maintains his innocence and has appealed the decision.
Earlier this year in Federal Court, Judge Michael Lee ruled that he was satisfied on a civil basis (which is different from a criminal basis) that Ms Higgins was raped by Bruce Lehrmann.
The defamation trial between Senator Reynolds and Ms Higgins is due to begin early next month.
