The Northwest Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) may be facing several lawsuits in relation to the deaths of at least seven babies earlier this month. Freedom Law Chambers, led Anand Ramlogan SC , delivered the pre-action protocol letter to the NWRHA’s chief executive officer yesterday, representing the parents of the seven deceased babies—Shaniya Raymond-Adams, Natasha Samuel, Shaquille Harry, Danyelle Samaroo, Tinelle Saunders, Jodie Molino and Shirese Moore-Beckles.
The seven babies who died as a result of a bacterial outbreak at the Port of Spain General Hospital (PoSGH) earlier this month are pursuing a lawsuit for medical negligence. The story about the deaths of the seven babies broke earlier this week to a shocked population since there had been no statement from the NWRHA at the time of the deaths. A release from the NWRHA earlier this week confirmed there were deaths of babies earlier this month, but did not specify the number of babies that had died.
The pre-action protocol letter stated that while seven deaths have been exposed by the media, SC Ramlogan and Freedom Law chambers is still in the process of assessing the true impact and scale of the tragedy, as several other parents have since contacted them with similar horror stories regarding their experience at the PoSGH and the negligent death of their babies. The attorneys also want the ministry of health to confirm total number of babies that have died at Port of Spain General since January 1.
The pre-action protocol stated: “Seven babies have died as a result of the sheer medical negligence, incompetence and substandard level of care provided by PoSGH.” It further stated: “Seven babies have died as a result of the sheer medical negligence, incompetence and substandard level of care provided by PoSGH. It is clear that these deaths were quietly swept under the carpet by the Ministry of Health (“MOH”) the North West Regional Health Authority NWRHA”
Class actions suits are a common practice in North America, they have not been a feature of the legal system in Trinidad & Tonago but Freedom chambers has stated it’s intention to pursue this legal course: “We hereby give notice that we intend to file an unprecedented class action claim for medical negligence based on the mass death of seven innocent babies at the Port of Spain General Hospital (“PoSGH”).
The pre-action protocol outlined several significant issues related to the deaths of the babies and encouraged a criminal investigation of the matter since according to information received by the law firm a baby a baby which was diagnosed with a serious viral infection was transferred from the St Clair Medical Centre to the NICU in circumstances where the risk of transmission and exposure to infection was reasonably foreseeable.
The letter stated: “To knowingly expose innocent babies to such a clear risk of foreseeable harm without implementing appropriate preventative measures to manage the risk exposure and prevent transmission is cruel and inhuman and could justify a criminal investigation to determine whether charges for manslaughter and misbehaviour in public office occurred.” The letter also questioned why the babies’ deaths were not immediately addressed by the Ministry of Health. The NWRHA has been given seven days to respond.