High profile neurosurgeon Dr Tim Steel has won a court action to have the NSW Police pay his fees for the failed AVO case they levelled against him.
Police took out the provisional AVO after Dr Steel was accused of holding a knife to the throat of a female – who can’t legally be named – after an argument over ice cream that spilt on the floor in July.
The case fell apart on August 17 after it emerged that Dr Steel never threatened anyone with a knife and the alleged victim admitted they were lying about the incident.
Given the weakness of the case, Dr Steel applied to have the state pay his legal costs.
Magistrate Milledge awarded Dr Steel $11,000 costs and told the court the case had warning signs written all over it from the beginning.
Paul McGirr argued the police in the matter “were played” and “fell right into a trap”.
“It was an embarrassing set of circumstances and the matter should not have seen the light of day,” Mr McGirr said.
“But police insisted on proceeding with the matter and it could have caused extreme damage to my clients career and reputation.”
The court has previously heard that police arrived at the scene of the alleged incident where the complainant confirmed Dr Steel did not threaten her with a knife.
She then went horse riding before presenting at a police station six hours later to make a formal complaint for an AVO to be taken out. However, body worn camera footage emerged from the police who attended the scene of the alleged incident showing the complainant confirmed to the officers that she had lied about the knife and that she apologised to Dr Steel.
It is the second time in two years the high profile surgeon from St Vincent’s Hospital in Darlinghurst has been before the courts only to see the allegations disproved. In July 2020, Dr Steel was found not guilty of assaulting his ex wife, Emma Steel, at their Eastern Suburbs home. Magistrate Swain found that it was in fact Mrs Steel who had assaulted Dr Steel.