Suit to review coroner’s verdict

By Barry Alleyne

barryalleyne@nationnews.com

The new legal team representing the Head of Surgery of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Dr Sahle Griffith, has asked the High Court to conduct a judicial review of the decision handed down last December by Coroner Graveney Bannister, and to invalidate the Coroner’s Inquest into the death of Warren Mottley.

Among the various grounds in the application for judicial review are that the coroner acted in a manner that was contrary to law; that he exceeded his jurisdiction; that he breached the principles of natural justice; that he acted unreasonably in the exercise of his discretion; that he acted upon irrelevant considerations; that he acted in breach of the Coroners Act; that he acted in the absence of evidence on which his finding could reasonably be based; and that he gave a verdict that exceeded his powers.

Griffith is being represented in the matter by a legal team of attorneys Ralph Thorne, KC, Hal Gollop, KC, and Emerald Griffith.

Instructed by the British law firm Weightmans LLP, they have filed the application, naming the defendants as Bannister, and the Attorney General of Barbados, Dale Marshall, KC.

“We will not allow this unlawful verdict to besmirch the outstanding career of this son of Barbados and the Caribbean,” Thorne added.

On December 23 last year, Magistrate Bannister, in his capacity as coroner, ruled that there was gross negligence by Griffith, the principal doctor at Surgical Solutions Limited, and his junior, anaesthesiologist Dr Nigel Farnum, that precipitated the death of Mottley, the brother of Prime Minister, Mia Amor Mottley.

In addition, the coroner opined that those actions amounted to a criminal act.

Thorne told the Weekend Nation last night: “The conduct of the proceedings and the unlawful verdict are capable of occasioning severe injury to a stellar career and to Dr Griffith’s high standing as a surgeon across several countries. We are therefore asking the High Court to invalidate the entire inquest and to award compensation to Dr Griffith.”

Mottley died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on June 29, 2021, a week after a routine colonoscopy at Surgical Solutions.

In a 90-minute decision last year, Magistrate Bannister said having reviewed the evidence – taken over a six-month period – he found there was a failure to diagnose or misdiagnose and a failure to properly treat Mottley’s infection.

Evidence

“It was breach of duty which gave rise to an obvious and egregious risk of death. The conduct was egregious . . . It was a gross dereliction of care. Looking at the evidence and looking at the parties involved in the care of Warren Mottley, I find the conduct of Dr [Sahle] Griffith and Dr [Nigel] Farnum was so bad in all the circumstances it would amount to a criminal act and omission, and it was grossly negligent and concerned in the cause of his death,” said Bannister.

“Warren Mottley went into Surgical Solutions for a routine colonoscopy, a routine procedure, but he did not come out. That should not have happened if due care had been used,” the coroner added.

The reserved date of hearing is April 25.