Lionel Patea: Double murderer seeks legal advice after he claims he suffered a hand injury during prison scuffle

The man who bludgeoned Tara Brown to death on a Gold Coast street is seeking legal advice about suing the State Government over a hand injury.

DOUBLE murderer Lionel Patea is seeking legal advice about suing the State Government about an injury sustained in a melee with prison officers.

But he is reluctant to put his name to the complaint because he doesn’t want to be seen as a “dog” to those involved.

Patea claims he suffered a broken hand during a scuffle at Townsville’s maximum security jail in January 2019. He was later cleared of assaulting a prison officer.

Lionel Patea. Photo: Facebook

His lawyer Campbell MacCallum said: “He wants to pursue civil action to get compensation for injuries which were occasioned upon him, he says, by overzealous … corrective services officers who were trying to extract him from a cell.

“He was punched multiple times while in a defenceless position and potentially suffered damage to his hand.

“However, it’s difficult because the Patea family is notorious for not giving statements or being ‘dogs’ and … in terms of litigation there needs to be a way around making such a claim without making a criminal complaint against another person even though it is a corrective services officer.”

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Mr MacCallum said he was consulting a personal injuries expert.

A Queensland Corrective Services spokesman said: “We are not speculating on a possible claim. This is a matter for the individual and his legal representative.”

In a separate matter, Patea has been given the green light to file a personal injuries claim against GEO Group Australia Pty Ltd, who owned Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre back in 2016.

Gold Coast lawyer Campbell MacCallum, from Moloney MacCallum Abdelshahied Lawyers. Picture: Jerad Williams

Patea claims he suffered lower back pain, pins and needles down the front of his legs, shins, toes, fingers and his back, as well as anxiety and depression, neck stiffness and pain arising out from the August 18, 2016 assault.

The matter remains before the court.

The former bikie enforcer is serving two life sentences for the unrelated Gold Coast murders of his ex-partner Tara Brown and pool builder Greg Dufty.

He is not eligible for parole until 2048.

Patea bludgeoned Ms Brown to death with a fire hydrant cover after running her off the road in a horrific act of violence in September 2015. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to her murder.

A year later he admitted to being part of a group that beat pool builder Greg Dufty to death in the Gold Coast Hinterland and then dumped the body. His body has never been found.

Patea converted to Islam in 2017 after he was sentenced for the murder of Ms Brown.