The Clunes truck driver lost his will to live after a tragic work accident last year in which a young man lost his life.

What started as “a day like any other”, February 4, 2014 quickly turned into the worst day of the 55-year-old’s life.

A hard-working, loving husband and father, Mr Duff was driving his Volvo prime-mover to Allansford, near Warrnambool, to pick up a load of limestone.

Catastrophe struck about 10.30am when a European farmhand, a 27-year-old who had only been in Australia for two weeks, made the life-ending decision to cross the Timboon-Colac Road on a quad bike. 

The young man probably didn’t even see the 29-tonne truck before it hit, killing him instantly. 

“That job was all I had to do that day. It was going to be a pretty cruisy day,” a broken Mr Duff said last week. 

“But that day destroyed my life. Everyone says, ‘It wasn’t your fault’, but it still doesn’t sit very well. I killed someone and it has turned my life upside down.”

Fresh out of a six-week stay in a private Geelong psychiatric hospital, where he was treated for severe post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, Mr Duff said he and his family’s life had been “shattered” since the accident.

“The flashbacks are the worst. They can come at any time and it’s like I’m right there with the young fella,” he said. “I can’t sleep. I have nightmares. I don’t socialise anymore. Every day is just a huge struggle.”

Never much of a drinker, Mr Duff said it was a culmination of heavy drinking and stress that led to a moment before Christmas last year when he “lost the plot”. 

“I just wanted to be okay for Christmas and okay around the kids,” he said. 

“But I wasn’t, and I knew I needed help. It was just getting out of control and I was starting to really think about it (suicide).”

Mr Duff’s wife Ann took him to his doctor in early January and he was automatically transferred to the private-care facility in Geelong.

Since coming home from the facility, where he received 24-hour, one-on-one therapy, he said life was a little better. 

“It saved my life; it really did,” he said. “But I can’t focus on getting better, getting on with life, because we have no money.”

They have sold most of their assets. They have no superannuation due to another tragedy in 2000 when Mr Duff lost much of his left hand. 

And they can’t pay their mortgage, let alone the piles of endless bills. 

Immediately after the accident, Mr Duff continued to receive WorkCover payments equal to his full wage. He was still receiving about $1500 a week and, apart from severe grief and his slipping mental health, life was okay.

The bills and mortgage were getting paid. 

But due to strict WorkSafe regulations, those payments have now been severely cut. 

Sometimes going without food, Mr Duff and his wife must now survive on less than $500 a week. They still have one son at home and fear they are about to lose the family home as mortgage payments become harder to make. 

“I know it’s just how the system works, but something needs to change,” Mr Duff said of the dwindling payments. 

“I’m a workaholic. All I have ever done is work. 

“But at the moment, I just can’t. I’ve got nothing to hide.

“I’ve paid taxes all my life and right now I need some support, but due to the regulations, I can’t survive.”

Mr Duff is still heavily medicated and overcome with anxiety when faced with the task of driving. 

He said anything could trigger the flashbacks. 

A devastated Ann said all she wanted was her husband to get better, or at least feel a little better.

But she said the stress of knowing he was about to lose the home he’d worked so hard for, was too much. 

“He might be okay if he could just know we were all right financially,” she said.

“But we’re not. This accident has destroyed us.

“And to think that if he hadn’t have gone to work that day, or if he had have stopped prior to the accident for a toilet break ... our lives would be fine.”

A spokesman said WorkSafe was aware of Mr Duff’s situation and that it would continue to work with the Duffs to ensure they could cope. 

“The trauma associated with a workplace injury can never be underestimated, and WorkSafe recognises the severe impact it can have on an injured worker and his or her family,” spokesman Peter Flaherty said. 

“However, the laws governing the compen-sation that can be paid to injured workers is set out in legislation and WorkSafe is bound to ensure these laws are administered appropriately.’’ 

Anyone wishing to help the Duffs can contact this reporter on 5320 1248 or email patrick.byrne@fairfaxmedia.com.au