NO TO ‘HUSH MONEY’

MOTHERS seeking compensation over the deaths of their babies at the Port of Spain General Hospital are not willing to accept settlements without an admission of liability by the North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA).

In correspondence dated May 7, 2024, to the NWRHA’s external attorneys, Pollonais, Blanc, de la Bastide & Jacelon (PBDJ), Freedom Law Chambers, headed by senior counsel Anand Ramlogan, said its clients were prepared to settle their claims but would not do so on terms that absolved the authority of responsibility.

The firm, in a response signed by attorney Sue Ann Deosaran, was addressing an invitation by the NWRHA to submit compensation proposals. It said the mothers viewed payments without an admission of liability as equivalent to accepting “hush money” and wanted to ensure that any settlement would not silence them.