MEDICO LEGAL M A G A Z I N E
CONTRIBUTING TO PARADISE LOST By Jonathan Dingle, FRSA, MCIArb, Barrister Middle Temple
Bermuda has many things. Elbow beach. The Kite festival. Scuba diving. And the highest numbers of lawyers per head of population on the planet. So perhaps we should not be surprised when a case makes its way across six hours of BA’s finest care to London and then makes medico-legal professionals worldwide take note. At the end of January 2016 it was the turn of risk analyst Kamal Williams, who “only ever wanted an apology” following his visit to the island’s only hospital. According to the local paper, Bermuda Hospitals Board opted to go to the Island’s highest court of appeal, in London, to avoid paying $58,000 to Kamal Williams, a father-of-two who had to wait more than ten hours for an appendectomy at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital in May 2011. “A very important reason for me taking this case this far is because the BHB refused to offer any
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type of formal condolences or take responsibility for anything,” he said. “All I wanted was a formally written apology saying ‘We messed up. We’re sorry. Here’s something for your trouble’. The fact that they didn’t say that made me very angry. They underestimated my patience. A lot of people don’t have the time or money to pursue the hospital when they do something wrong. Initially, I was pursuing this to right the wrong they did to me — now, I’m also doing it for the people who don’t have the means to challenge them.” BHB said the decision to appeal was driven by its medical malpractice insurers, who will meet “all potential costs”, and was based on detailed advice and a belief that the Board was in the right. Mr Williams was admitted to KEMH’s emergency room on the morning of 30th May 2011 with serious stomach pain. Reportedly screaming in agony by
