A class action lawsuit for medical negligence has been filed against Port-of-Spain General Hospital (P0SGH) by seven families whose newborns passed away from neonatal sepsis over four days in the NICU.
Former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, SC, is representing the parents, Shaniya Raymond-Adams, Natasha Samuel, Shaquille Harry, Danyelle Samaroo, Tinelle Saunders, Jodie Molino, and Shirese Moore-Beckles.
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Ramlogan described his intended goal in a nine-page letter recently sent to the CEO of the Northwest Regional Health Authority (NWRHA), “to file an unprecedented class action claim for medical negligence based on the mass death of seven innocent babies.”
He stated that the families were invited over the weekend to attend a meeting with high-ranking NWRHA officials on April 13, 2024, but they expressed reservations regarding the meeting’s objectives, the attendees, and whether the families’ legal representation was permitted.
“While seven deaths have been exposed by the media, we wish to make it clear that we are still in the process of assessing the true impact and scale of this tragedy, as several other parents have since contacted us with similar horror stories regarding their experience at the PoSGH and the negligent death of their babies.”
The letter further notes, “We are therefore in the process of taking the necessary instructions and expressly reserve the right to add further claimants to this class action claim for medical negligence. In the meantime, we seek full, frank disclosure regarding the number of babies that have died at the PoSGH since January 1, 2024, to present.”
According to Ramlogan, the families have voiced serious concerns over the accuracy of the medical records and notes for the moms and their children. They have made many requests for these records, but they have not yet received them.
“They are troubled by the bureaucratic stonewalling and continuing failure and/or refusal to provide these critical documents. They are worried that the medical notes and records could be changed and altered to fabricate a defense or mitigate the negligent conduct of the medical staff at the PoSGH,” the letter further mentioned.
“We appreciate and understand our client’s fears and anxieties on this issue because we are involved in medical negligence cases in which we have reason to believe that the medical notes and records were doctored and changed. In other cases, the entire file containing the patient’s medical notes and records mysteriously vanished. We therefore see these concerns as legitimate and reasonable and therefore urge you to disclose our client’s medical records,” it stated.
According to the letter, a baby who was “suffering from 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.”
It claimed that no effort was made to appropriately segregate the infants of our clients to avoid infection.
“In the circumstances, we intend to seek an order for disclosure regarding the transfer of this baby, which clearly placed our clients’ babies at serious risk and at compromise to their health with fatal consequences,” it noted.
Ramlogan said that he planned to pursue exceptional and aggravating damages, “for the arbitrary and oppressive conduct of the staff at the PoSGH given the reckless, incompetent, unprofessional, and irresponsible manner in which our clients and the babies were treated.”
He added, “To knowingly expose innocent babies to such a clear risk of foreseeable harm without implementing appropriate preventative measures to manage the risk of exposure and prevent transmission is cruel and inhuman and could justify a criminal investigation to determine whether charges for manslaughter and misbehavior in public office occurred.”
“The fact that these deaths were hidden from the public with no timely statement by the Ministry of Health (which is quick to boast about the excellent level of health care in our public hospitals), speaks volumes. The “hush-hush” policy of the NWRHA illustrates that they were prepared to bury their heads in the sand in the hope that these deaths would be simply forgotten over time.”
He maintained that the NWRHA was required to report that six more babies had passed away in the NICU and near one another.
“The NWRHA breached this duty to make full and frank disclosure and is therefore guilty of the worst form of hypocrisy and deception. It is clear that the plan of action was to deal with each family separately and individually in the hope that it could pacify them and simply let them walk away on the understanding that the pain and suffering over their loss would ease over time. Our clients will never, however, be able to overcome their loss, far less forget about the manner in which their babies were treated,” he added.
Kae’ Jhene Kerniah Charles had a brief life due to the negligence of medical professionals at the T&T Port-of-Spain General Hospital.
In the letter, it is stated that the mother, Shaniya Raymond-Adams, 27, of Pole 51 Soriah Trace, Brazil Village, Arima, 32 weeks pregnant, started experiencing pains on March 31. Her family then drove her to the PoSGH, where she was checked out at around 12:30 in the morning and then admitted to the maternity ward.
Baby Kae’Jhene was born via caesarean section (C-section) on April 1, 2024, at 4:22 a.m., weighing 1.141 kg, with APGAR scores of eight at one minute and nine at five minutes. According to the letter, this indicated that even though the baby was born early, she was in good health. The infant was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) per standard procedure.
The infant was robust and healthy, moving her arms and legs, and doing rather well, according to Ramlogan’s letter.
“Her progress was noted to be ‘excellent’, and hence she was eventually taken off the ventilator on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. Our client inquired whether this was safe, and the doctor assured her that there was no need for concern as the baby was sufficiently strong and healthy and could manage on her own,” the letter noted.
Baby Kae’ Jhene seems to be adjusting to life without the ventilator on April 3, 2024. But after drinking some milk, she threw up and seemed uncomfortable.
Charles asked to see her child but was informed it was alright.
“Our client begged the nurse to summon a doctor to examine her child; however, despite our client’s persistence, the nurse simply reiterated that the baby was fine,” the letter said.
The parents went to visit their child in the NICU on April 4, 2024.
“They observed the baby vomiting again, and the medical staff indicated that they were administering antibiotics and that there was nothing to worry about. They persisted and said they wanted to know what was wrong with their baby, and they were eventually told that the baby had developed a blood infection. The attitude of the staff was very casual, indifferent, and secretive, as they appeared reluctant to disclose any information about our client’s baby,” it states.
On April 5, 2024, Raymond-Adams received an unexpected call informing her that her child needed a blood transfusion due to low blood levels and platelet counts.
“This sudden development left them feeling confused and frightened for their baby’s wellbeing. Later that evening, our client was discharged from the hospital, reluctantly leaving her baby in the NICU. They attempted to obtain updates by phone, calling the hospital at 7:56 pm where she was informed by a nurse that the blood transfusion had been successful and the baby had not experienced any adverse reactions. She was told that ‘all was well’ and that she should stop calling,” it further mentioned.
The baby’s lungs were filled with blood, and her pulse rate was dropping, according to a frightening call Raymond-Adams received from the hospital on April 6, 2024, at approximately 5:30 am. She was urged to come down right away.
The pair—Kerron Charles, the spouse of Raymond-Adams—hurried to the hospital.
“Upon arrival, the doctor informed them that the baby had already been resuscitated twice, and despite medication to stop the bleeding in the lungs, it recurred shortly after. Regrettably, the doctors then conveyed to our clients that they would cease resuscitation efforts,” the letter noted.
“Our clients begged the doctor to continue efforts to save their baby to no avail. Tragically, their baby passed away at 10:21 am on April 6, 2024.”
The letter concluded, “Devastated, our clients were especially distressed by the sudden turn of events, as their baby was healthy and lively at birth, only to be pronounced dead five days later.”
Medical negligence in Ramlogan’s complaint against the NWRHA
Although only high-risk babies are admitted to the NICU, the staff and/or agents of the NWRHA were negligent in that they allowed another baby with a serious infection to be admitted without managing and minimizing the risk of infection and transmission to other babies in the NICU, failed to provide a clean, safe, and sanitized environment in the NICU, and failed to properly adhere to and maintain industry standards for a NICU unit.
