(Trinidad Express) The Brian Lara Cancer Treatment Centre (BLCTC) has been slapped with a $20 million lawsuit on the eve of the second anniversary of Ricardo “Smokey” McKenzie’s death from a suspected deadly overdose of radiation to his brain.
To support their claim of gross medical negligence, lawyers for McKenzie’s family intend to prove that Medcorp Limited and the Cancer Centre of the Caribbean Limited, the operators of BLCTC, tried to cover up and conceal the fact that sensitive radiation machines were miscalibrated — exposing patients to a deadly dose instead of treatment.
The attorneys also intend to prove that the medical facility was aware that its equipment, a linear accelerator, needed recalibrating and took no steps to correct the error although the effects could have resulted in fatal injuries.
The medical facility has not accepted any blame for McKenzie’s death and disputes any negligence on its part, according to court documents. However, the company donated US$10,000 towards McKenzie’s foreign medical expenses one month before his death.
McKenzie, 55, the former co-owner of the internationally recognised St James bar — Smokey and Bunty Sports Bar — died on December 21, 2010, at the Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Florida, USA.
He was described by his wife, Lisa Ann McKenzie, 47, as an avid footballer who enjoyed a vibrant social life with this family and friends. His illness, she said, left him “a shadow of his former self and a broken man”, as the business took a nose dive due to his absence.
Contacted yesterday, she described the matter was “sensitive”, saying only, “My children and I would simply like to see justice served”.
They have two daughters — Ornella, 22 and Daniella, 17.
Lisa Ann McKenzie is seeking recovery of funds expended on her husband’s medical treatment amounting to almost $3 million and just over $16m as loss of earnings, had he retired at the age of 65 from his business. He earned $138, 333.33 per month.
McKenzie’s legal team includes Terrence Bharath, Andre LeBlanc and Vijai Deonarine while Medcorp’s attorneys at the stage when the pre-action protocol letter was sent was Samson Wong, instructed by the law firm Johnson, Camacho and Singh.
Among the witnesses to be called to support the claims in the lawsuit is Dr Roberto Heros, a professor of neurosurgery, co-chairman and programme director of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Miami.
In his medical report, which forms part of the bundle of documents filed in court, Heros stated that McKenzie’s diagnosis “is the worst case of radiation necrosis I have ever encountered”. The doctor said that it was “clear that the necrosis was due to radiation therapy” McKenzie had in Trinidad and noted there was “no question that the deceased’s (McKenzie) radiation necrosis led to his death”.
On July 6 last year Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan and then Chief Medical Officer Anton Cumberbatch confirmed that 223 cancer patients were administered overdoses of radiation during treatment over the period of a year at the BLCTC in Port of Spain.
They said the patients were exposed to higher levels of radiation during treatment for cancer at the centre over the period because a radiation treatment machine at the centre was miscalibrated. This disclosure confirmed an exclusive Sunday Express investigation last August which uncovered a then-active investigation into the cancer treatment scare at the centre.
At Tuesday’s sitting of the Senate, Khan said a number of patients who were exposed to radiation overdoses at the BLCTC may have to go abroad for further treatment.
He said eight of the surviving patients were found to have complications and three or four of them may have to seek foreign treatment. The Minister said teams from the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Pan American Health Organisation were part of the investigative team into the matter and a report into their findings would soon be made public.
In McKenzie’s case, according to court documents, the patient first complained of headaches, seizures and vomiting in August 2009 and was subsequently referred to the BLCTC in September 2009 for radiation treatment after a tumour was detected and removed from his brain.
Between the months of September and November 2009, McKenzie was under treatment at the Centre but in April 2010, he collapsed and suddenly began having seizures, court documents stated. His condition worsened after he became partially paralysed and complained of “severe headaches”. Further medical tests revealed “a possibility of radiation necrosis” of the area where the tumour was removed.
By July 27, 2010, McKenzie had travelled to Jackson Memorial to obtain more expert medical treatment where it was recommended that he needed urgent care for a wound infection at the site of the surgery.
There, McKenzie underwent brain surgery two days later and again on August 20, 2010 to remove a mass of necrotic brain tissue. Two other surgeries were performed because of persistent brain swelling.
