Renowned quadriplegic emergency doctor's battle over $88 parking fine

A quadriplegic emergency doctor, who received an Order of Australia honour and is a former Queensland Australian of the Year, is locked in a battle with a parking company over an $88 fine.

Dinesh Palipana, 37, parked his car on what he thought was a council-owned street on the Gold Coast.

He said, like always, he made sure his disability parking permit was visible.

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"The thing is in Queensland, any council-controlled area when you park, if it's a paid park you can put your disability parking permit up and it's free," Palipana told A Current Affair.

But when he returned to his vehicle, he was shocked to discover a fine stating there was no paid ticket on the dash or easy parking payment.

"There was a link on the ticket to log in and appeal the ticket, so I logged in and I said, 'these are the Queensland Government rules and I guess the privileges that are afforded to people with a disability to park with council'," Palipana said.

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"So, you know, I just asked them to please forgive the fine."

The company that manages the street is called Care Park.

But despite its name, Palipana said it has shown no compassion for him and told him the fine would not be waived.

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He said they even threatened legal action if he didn't pay the fine.

Despite Palipana pleading his case in a series of emails, Care Park's general manager didn't appear to back down, responding: "If you had taken 10 seconds to look around, you would have been able to very easily sight numerous signs advising you of what you are required to do."

But when it came to the mentioned sign, Palipana said, "when you drive in, you're not going to be able to read that fine print, even if you had the greatest eyesight".

"To wander around to it, it's going to be difficult."

Palipana contacted the Office of Fair Trading, but it was unable to help.

He decided to pay the fine to avoid it doubling after 14 days.