Five years after their tragic loss, a family finds justice in a consoling verdict. The Karamesinis family – whose son Jerry died of head injuries after being hit by a bouncer at a Melbourne nightclub – have been awarded $350,000 following a court order.
31-year-old Jerry Karamesinis died from head injuries after his head hit the ground when he was struck by a bouncer outside the 21st Century club in Frankston on May 12, 2007.
His parents, Loukia and Petkos Karamesinis, were at the court this morning when they were awarded $175,000 each after launching a civil action suit against Australian Crowd Controllers Services Pty Ltd.
They also lost another son, Andreas, a year before Jerry’s death due to unusual circumstances.
Frank Saccardo, County Court Judge, said he was not satisfied with the statement of bouncer Henry Vong, claiming he had acted in self-defense when he hit Karamesinis. “I do not accept the assertion made by Vong that the deceased was the aggressor in the incident,” he explained.
”My life became a grave,” Loukia Karamesinis told the judge, regarding the death of her son Jerry, which unexpectedly crushed her, 17 months after his brother Andreas died from accidental asphyxiation.
When deciding on the damages, the judge took the severity of the psychiatric conditions they faced after his death into serious account. He said the couple had been “constantly focused upon the death of their children and the loss that they’re living.”
At a coronial inquest into the nature of Karamesinis’ death, Judge Jennifer Coate called for sweeping changes to the security industry. Improved training and a supervised probationary period before crowd controllers could be licensed, were her recommendations.
Karamesinis’ widow, Mirella, said the coroner’s recommendations, if enacted, would mean her loving husband would not have died in vain. His tragic loss could mean tighter regulations on crowd controllers in Victoria.
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