Mt Maunganui's Kate Hills has fought for 11 years for compensation for a serious workplace accident in Australia, supported by her Omokoroa parents Roger and Lynley.

Kate can't remember much about the Sydney party that left her with a traumatic brain injury. It was a "P" theme, and she went as cartoon character Penelope Pitstop.

Kate Hills. Photo: Mike Scott.

A photo taken on the night shows Hills and a friend looking happy. Just a few hours later she was in an induced coma, fighting for her life.

Everything has changed since that night in March, 2004 - both countries have changed Prime Ministers, the Wallabies no longer have the wood on the All Blacks and Hills, 38, is back in Mount Maunganui with two small children.

Kate has fought for 11 years to get compensation for a workplace injury in Australia

But 11 years on one thing hasn't changed - her fight for worker's compensation remains tied up in the courts with no end in sight. Several of the lawyers involved on both sides have moved on and the company that employed Hills, Pioneer Studios, no longer exists.

"It hasn't defined my life," Kate says. "But it has always been there, in the background, alongside the waiting, frustration, heartbreak, relief - and so much more waiting. It's been an emotional roller-coaster."

If the accident had happened in New Zealand, Hills would have received ACC to cover her medical expenses, lost earnings and possibly a lump sum for permanent impairment.

But Australia does not have universal coverage for accidents. Private companies provide workers compensation insurance to employers, and claims can become tied up in the courts when there is a dispute about whether an injury was work-related.

Hills' case has bounced between the Workers Compensation Commission, the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal in New South Wales, and essentially comes down to this point: was she injured in the course of her employment?

She says yes - CGU, the insurance company for her former employer, says no. The judges and arbitrators can't seem to make up their minds, agreeing with her on three occasions but ruling against her another three.

The most recent judgment, handed down by the Court of Appeal last month, was a split decision against her.

Hills' lawyer, Sydney QC Bernard Gross, says the two judges who found against her made "major errors of law" and the legal team was seeking special leave to go to the High Court of Australia.

Gross will only get paid if he wins, but says he was happy to work pro bono for Hills.

"I still believe her injury was work-related. The injury happened at her place of employment at a work farewell party for another employee which her employer expected and encouraged her to attend."

Gross says if they won, it would become an important legal precedent.

"I enjoy the challenge of a good fight. This fight has gone a lot more rounds and over a longer period than most cases, but I am very happy to do all I can for Kate."

Hills, a trained photographer, had just started at Pioneer Studios as manager of its equipment rental department when she was invited to the party.

She thought she should go, as it was a good chance to meet clients and colleagues. "For me it was always a work function."

At about 3am, she went upstairs to get her camera, tripped and fell over a balustrade, falling about 5m and landing on her head on concrete.

She was rushed to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, where she was held in an induced coma for three weeks. She was in hospital for three months.

"I slowly learnt how to breathe alone, swallow and talk, and later to walk again."

Initially CGU accepted her claim, and paid for her medical expenses and 80 per cent of her wages for two months.

But the insurer baulked at a lump sum payment to reflect her ongoing impairment and loss of earnings, and the lengthy court process began.

"From this point the case got a life of its own, and it was the insurers and my legal team in a battle, in which I feature only by name."

Slowly Hills got her life back together in New Zealand, retraining in graphic design. She was able to return to work after about two-and-a-half years.

Her parents, Roger and Lynley Hills of Omokoroa, have handled the legal issues on her behalf.

Roger Hills said he was appalled the insurance company had reneged on its initial letter accepting her claim.

The case raised important issues for employers, he says.

"You take your staff for a few drinks, there are responsibilities there that go beyond just getting them all tanked up and sending them home, you've got to make sure they are cared for."

Her mother, Lynley, says: "They've done what insurance companies do, try to find a loophole. I'd love for her to get a form of compensation that would allow her to have closure.

"It wasn't her fault she had the accident...she suffered very significantly and fought very hard and was resilient. She's lucky to be alive to tell you the truth."

Hills says she still had symptoms from her brain injury, such as struggling to find the right words, but had learned to live with it.

"But the court case still lingers. I would love to put those horrible years behind me. I would love closure."