Man suing hospital, State for bad injection

A bartender, who is claiming that he suffered permanent injuries after a health practitioner at St Joseph’s Hospital in St Andrew wrongly injected a nerve in his buttocks, is suing the government and the health facility for negligence and breach of statutory duty.

The 50-year-old claimant, Garfield Morris, who is contending that the injection was not properly administered, is seeking a little over $2 million in special damages, the brunt of which is for loss of income for two years.

The hospital is named as the first defendant in the case, while the attorney general is the second defendant.

The case went before the Supreme Court on Tuesday and a plea and case management hearing was scheduled for March 16, 2023.

In his claim filed from November 2014, Morris alleges that on or about October 19, 2012, he visited the hospital and was administered an injection.

The claimant is contending that the servant and/or agents of the defendants negligently caused and/or permitted the needle to touch a nerve in his right buttock, resulting in him sustaining injuries, loss and damage.

Morris reportedly suffered 17 per cent whole person injury as a result of the “wrongly administered injection”.

According to him, the injuries have limited his ability to perform full time as a bartender.

He further avers that his job involves the lifting of heavy tools and equipment, prolonged standing, walking, and bending, which continuously aggravate his injuries.

Morris also contends that his competitiveness in the labour market has also been reduced.

The claimant is being represented by attorney-at-law Lance Lamey.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com