Ex-soldier still suffering from 33-y-o injury

Mark Titus, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

THE PERSISTENT pain and discomfort from an injury suffered during a training exercise in 1979, and the failure of the Government to fully compensate him, has left ex-Jamaica Defence Force soldier, Orlando Ellis, a disappointed man.

The 69-year-old, who at the time of the incident held the rank of corporal, claims that he received injury to his lower back while disembarking a lorry at the Delta Company 3JR headquarters in Montego Bay.

"Now I have to be sleeping on five pillows, plus a sheet of ply has to be under my bed," Ellis told The Gleaner last Friday.

The ex-soldier now works as a taxi operator, but maintains that he has not maximised the full potential of that industry because of his injury.

"The car I drive also has a special padding. I am constantly in pain, so I cannot even operate my taxi full time."

Document signed by medical doctor Captain Carl Hastings, dated September 24, 1980, confirms Ellis' discharge from D Company 3JR (NR) on August 4, 1980 on medical grounds.

However, Ellis claims that the compensation he received does not correspond to his rank as a corporal, but as a private.

"I was a corporal when I got injured on the job. I was demoted from corporal to lance corporal and then to private while being treated for the injury," he said.

"They (the Ministry of Finance) have decided to compensate me as a private and I was injured as a corporal, but no matter how I try over all these years to correct this, nothing has been done. But I am determined to get what is due to me."

Seek clarification

His first move was to seek clarification with his former employers, who in October 2010 wrote to the computation manager at the finance ministry, indicating that Ellis should be paid from September 2, 1979 and should be compensated accordingly.

A female employee at the Ministry of Finance and Planning, with whom The Gleaner spoke on Monday, referred this reporter to the public service establishment division, but personnel in that department said all queries would have to be submitted via email, with no definite timeline for a response.

The Office of the Public Defender's intervention was also sought, but four years and counting, nothing has been forthcoming.

When contacted, deputy public defender, Lorna Errar, was unwilling to disclose whether the office had taken up Ellis' matter, as a confidentiality agreement between her office and the client would prevent her from providing details.

However, she said the normal procedure in such a matter would be that the complainant would provide a statement - whether written, emailed or faxed.

"I, as the deputy and/or the director of investigations, would read the complaint to determine if it's in our remit. If it is, we would send it to one of our investigators with some instructions as to what they ascertain or documents they need to gather," she said.

"We would also be in correspondence with the various authority and departments to get documents to verify what the complainant has said.

"At the end of it, when we would have gathered all that we need, we would determine if the claim is legitimate. If our enquiry has demonstrated that he has been wronged, suffered maladministration or injustice, that having been done we would write to the relevant authority and/or the attorney general."

Another document from the medical registration department at the Cornwall Regional Hospital dated March 14, 1984 and signed by Dr P. Viswanadham of the department of surgery described Ellis' condition as a sacroiliac strain.

"He was given physiotherapy but there is no note of any further follow-up in his docket," Viswanadham stated in the document.

"Since he has received physiotherapy for nearly three years and still has the same limitation of movement of the right hip, this residual disability is likely to be permanent."

This diagnosis was also supported by now-deceased Dr JSR Golding of the University Hospital of the West Indies, who reported that a radiograph showed that the fifth lumbar vertebra was "partially sacrilised in the right side", and recommended that the condition could be improved by the manipulation of the lower back under anaesthetic.

"I would do anything to prevent this constant pain. I am not asking for handout," Ellis pleaded. "I am simply asking for what is due to me that I can take care of my situation."

mark.titus@gleanerjm.com