Supreme Court awards $15m to injured carpenter after state-operated ambulance put him in hospital 

A Kingston carpenter who suffered brain damage and memory loss after he was knocked from his motorcycle by a state-operated ambulance has been awarded more than $15 million in damages by the Supreme Court.

Paul Messiah, 61, was granted $14.86 million in general damages and $352,000 in special damages after the court accepted medical evidence that he suffered a mild head injury, a left- brain contusion, and a stable skull fracture following a January 29, 2020 crash.

Justice Sonya Wint-Blair, in a judgment handed down earlier this month, ordered that interest on the general damages be paid at three per cent per annum from December 2, 2020, while interest on the special damages is to run at three per cent per annum from the date of the accident.

She accepted the evidence from Messiah's doctors and further found that his neuropsychological diagnoses were a result of his involvement in the collision.

"Conservatively, as the experts opine, the type of head injury sustained by the claimant is known to be linked, in some cases, to lingering cognitive issues, with impairment of recent memory being the most common sign," she said.

Messiah had sued the State and ambulance driver Jerome Gordon for negligence arising from the crash. The attorney general was named as the first defendant as the State's representative, while Gordon was the second defendant.

The accident occurred on January 29, 2020 at the intersection of South Odeon Avenue and Constant Spring Road, when an ambulance driven by Gordon collided with Messiah's motorcycle.

Messiah, who was wearing his helmet, was thrown from the motorcycle and rendered unconscious. He was rushed to the Kingston Public Hospital, where he later regained consciousness and underwent emergency medical assessment.

Doctors had initially diagnosed him with a cerebral concussion, an occipital bone fracture extending to the lambdoid suture, fractures to the anterior and posterior walls of the left sphenoid sinus, and a left-brain contusion.

The court heard that although Messiah survived the ordeal and eventually recovered from the immediate effects of the traumatic brain injury, he was left with lingering symptoms that continue to affect his daily life and ability to work.

Consultant neurologist Dr Duane Patten, who examined Messiah, diagnosed him with mild short-term memory impairment and traumatic brain injury with neurocognitive deficits, concluding that there was a clear connection between the crash and Messiah's ongoing symptoms.

"Mr Messiah has recovered from the traumatic brain injury itself, but he lives with mild residual neurocognitive deficits," Patten stated in his report.

Patten also recommended further neuropsychological evaluation and treatment, noting that persons who suffer such head trauma face an elevated risk of dementia associated with neurodegeneration.

The court also considered expert evidence from clinical psychologist Dr Kai Morgan and associate clinical psychologist Verrol Billet.

Their assessment concluded that Messiah was suffering from a major neurocognitive disorder due to mild traumatic brain injury with behavioural disturbances, as well as persistent depressive disorder with anxious distress and a moderate major depressive episode.

"Mr Messiah has had challenges sleeping, eating properly and with social interaction since the incident, but is able to cook and take care of his hygiene," Morgan said in her report.

The psychologist further reported that Messiah had become short-tempered and socially withdrawn since the accident and experienced chronic pain, sleep disturbances and mood swings that affected his overall functioning.

Morgan assessed Messiah as having a 13 per cent whole-person impairment, noting that he would not be able to work as he once did because of the pain and breathing issues.

In assessing damages, Wint-Blair reviewed several authorities involving claimants who sustained traumatic brain injuries and placed Messiah's overall whole-person impairment at 27 per cent after combining the impairment ratings assigned by the medical experts.

She also noted the legal principle of restitutio in integrum, which seeks to place an injured claimant, as far as money can, in the position he would have occupied had the injury not occurred.

After reviewing the authorities and adjusting previous awards to present-day values, Wint-Blair determined that an appropriate award fell between comparable awards of approximately $11.67 million and $18.06 million, but granted a reduction because expert evidence indicated that Messiah had fully recovered from the mild traumatic brain injury itself.

Messiah was represented by attorney Christine Mae Hudson, instructed by K Churchill Neita & Company, while the defendants were represented by Robert Clarke, instructed by the director of state proceedings.

tanesha.mundle@gleanerjm.com