Dad sues late ex-wife for 'overwhelming grief' after 4 kids killed in crash

A grieving father says he deserves more than $2m in damages after his ex-wife smashed into a truck while driving their four children, aged two to six, killing everyone inside the car. 

A father says he deserves more than $2m in damages after his ex-wife smashed into a truck with their children inside the car, killing his entire family.

James McLeod, the ex-husband of Charmaine McLeod and the biological father of their four children, has sued his former partner’s estate for the staggering amount, claiming she deliberately inflicted him psychological harm by swerving her car into the path of an oncoming truck in 2019.

The crash, in Queensland’s South Burnett region, killed the mum and their children Aaleyn, 6, Matilda, 5, Wyatt, 4, and Zaidok, 2 and led to an outpouring of grief across the state.

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Charmaine McLeod and her four children died in a fiery crash in 2019 when she swerved into an oncoming truck. Picture: Supplied

An inquest into the five deaths last month wrapped up at the Coroner’s Court in Brisbane.

Mr McLeod, a volunteer firefighter, first lodged Supreme Court proceedings against his deceased ex-wife’s estate and her insurer, Suncorp Insurance, in 2021.

He is seeking more than $2.3m in total damages for his loss of future earnings and need for future care and assistance because of her “heinous and reprehensible” conduct.

Mediation attempts between the parties since then have failed.

James McLeod has sued his ex-wife’s estate for more than $2m in damages. Picture: Dan Peled / NCA NewsWire

McLeod alleges ex-wife breached duty of care

In court documents seen by NCA NewsWire, Mr McLeod claims Ms McLeod “intended to cause psychological harm” to him or was “reckless” as to whether psychological harm would be caused by the death or harm of his children.

"The first defendant (Charmaine), as the driver of the vehicle, owed to the plaintiff (James), the father of her passengers, a duty to take reasonable care to avoid exposing him to the risk of psychological harm which may occur should their children be injured or killed in a collision,” his claim states.

Mr McLeod alleges she breached this duty of care by failing to drive with due care and attention on the night of the collision.

“(Mr McLeod) has developed an overwhelming sense of grief, distress and loss,” his claim states.

Mr McLeod’s psychological injuries include “post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with prominent associated anxiety and depression, adjustment order with depressed mood and alcohol use disorder”.

The collision also left him with a raft of issues, including low self-esteem, insomnia, flashbacks and nightmares of the event and travel anxiety, among others, the claim states.

Mr McLeod’s claim states these are now “significant barriers” to his ability to gain meaningful employment.

The claim states he intended to find work as a paid urban firefighter upon his youngest son Zaidok starting school or as a truck driver or plasterer or other trade work.

Work as a firefighter or truckie are no longer suitable due to his travel anxiety and the need for “extensive specialist psychiatric and psychological treatment” for years, his claim states.

RELATED: Note found after crash killed mum and her 4 kids

Wyatt, Aaleyn, Zaidok and Matilda were in the back of Ms McLeod’s station wagon when it collided with an ongoing truck. Picture: Supplied

Ms McLeod’s conduct was “heinous and reprehensible"

He further claims telling prospective employers of his conditions renders his prospects for “obtaining and maintaining gainful employment … very remote”.

Mr McLeod, who started receiving a disability support pension around 2020, is seeking $606,279.60 for future economic loss and a further $70,995.34 in lost superannuation,

$49,750 for future care – including ongoing psychological treatment – and another $4941.53 in out-of-pocket medical expenses.

Mr McLeod is seeking a further $506,520 for future care and assistance, with the claim outlining a need for “prompting and reminding to complete his domestic personal tasks, (and) encouragement for outings, assistance with domestic cleaning and outdoor maintenance tasks”, among other tasks.

He has also argued for not less than $1m in aggravated damages, his claim stating Ms McLeod’s conduct was “heinous and reprehensible, in contumelious disregard of (his) rights”.

Suncorp Insurance has lodged a defence and disputes some of Mr McLeod’s pleadings.

The insurer claims amounts sought by Mr McLeod – including his future economic loss – are “unreasonable and excessive”.

In their defence, Suncorp Insurance claims Mr McLeod had prior psychiatric issues that required antidepressants, was treated for lower back pain and referenced allegations of drug use.

Suncorp Insurance claims Mr McLeod would still have faced difficulty in “securing and maintaining employment”.

His family obligations, but for Charmaine’s breach of duty, were such he would not have been in a position to undertake shift work required by employment as an urban firefighter,” its defence states.

In a further reply, Mr McLeod disputes these assertions, arguing the amounts are reasonable and “fairly and accurately” reflect the nature of his “injuries, pain and suffering”.

The parties are awaiting the coroner’s findings into the deaths of Ms McLeod and the four children after an inquest ran for two weeks in June.

On the first day, the inquest was told a note was found near the site of the fiery crash on the Bunya Highway in Queensland’s South Burnett region where Ms McLeod referred to being “unable to cope” and was worried about the fate of her children.

Harrowing evidence was given about Ms McLeod hearing voices telling her to harm herself or her kids, along with hearing animal voices she likened to being in “Noah’s ark”.

Other evidence included Ms McLeod’s long history of mental health issues, including schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder.

Originally published as Dad sues late ex-wife for 'overwhelming grief' after 4 kids killed in crash