A police officer who has claimed she was badly injured when an elevator at the George Town police headquarters malfunctioned has launched legal action for compensation.
In a writ of summons, Jody-Ann Wignal’s attorneys said she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and has flashbacks after the “traumatic” event.
She filed the writ on 20 Nov. against her employers – the commissioner of police, the attorney general and the government – and the owner of Elizabethan Square, Montpelier Properties.
The total amount sought by Wignal was not detailed.
In the document, Wignal’s attorney said she was carrying out her duties as a detective constable at the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service headquarters on 2 Dec. 2020.
She entered an elevator on the third floor of the Elizabethan Square property to go to the ground floor to leave the building, the writ said.
“The elevator immediately and suddenly went up to the top floor, then shot back down at a high rate of speed to the ground floor,” it said.
It then “jetted” back up to the third floor where the door opened and Wignal, who was 31 at the time of the incident, got out, the document said.
“As a result of this traumatic experience the plaintiff suffered damage, physical, mental and personal injuries,” attorneys Brooks and Brooks wrote in the statement of claim.
They said she was taken to Cayman Islands Hospital where she was treated for spinal injuries.
Wignal was then placed on extended sick leave while she was treated with a neck brace, various medications and ongoing physiotherapy, the writ said.
It said her injuries were caused by negligence of the defendants and/or breach of statutory duties.
Among those statutory duty fails, as listed by the attorneys, were providing a safe place of employment and exercising reasonable care and consideration to Wignal’s safety.
They also included failing to maintain the elevator, failing to provide a warning that it had previously malfunctioned, and failing to investigate this malfunction, among others.
At the time of the incident, Wignal was a “robust, athletic and highly competent police officer hailing from a family with a strong policing tradition”, the attorneys said.
Afterward, she was unable to perform her work duties due to her inability to sit for long periods, lift moderate weights or participate in police fitness requirements, the writ said.
She was recommended for part-time light duties and transferred from the Firearms Unit to the Joint Intelligence Unit, it added.
“The plaintiff now faces career uncertainty and has had to have her son reside with family members as she is unable to provide the full care which he requires,” the attorneys wrote.
Wignal is claiming general and special damages, pre- and post-judgment interest on damages, legal fees and costs.
The defendants have 14 days to respond to the writ or risk the matter being taken to court.
The Compass contacted the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service for comment and a press officer responded: “We do not comment on matters before the court.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was updated at 9.55am on 28 Nov. to include the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service response.
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