Two survivors of Mahdia dorm fire sue State for $10M each

Feb 22, 2024 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

Kaieteur News – Two survivors of the deadly fire that killed 20 students at the female dormitory of the Mahdia Secondary School last May have filed lawsuits against the State claiming in excess of $10 M each in damages they suffered as a result of the inferno.

According to the documents filed by the parents of the two teenage girls, the survivors are claiming the sums for the severe trauma and mental distress as a result of the negligence of the state-operated dormitory.

In their claim, the lawyers of the survivors noted that the State failed to equip the school with the necessary skills, experience and expertise in the management of an emergency scenario. The survivors also claimed that the State failed to equip the school with proper lighting for an escape route, and other emergency systems to deal with a fire. According to the filing, the claimants noted that there were no fire extinguishers at the dorms when the fire struck, and exits were also not marked.

In Court documents, a 14-year-old survivor recalled suffering from smoke inhalation, severe burns about her body and severe trauma. She also detailed witnessing the death of her fellow students. The child also suffered severe burns to her shoulder, face and both hands with partial loss of sight as a result of some damage to her eyes.

According to the other pleadings, since the deadly fire, 14-year-old claimant has struggled to sleep, communicate and engage with her peers as she did before the incident. She has reported severe trauma and mental distress upon reflection of the fire and the death of her friends and her own narrow escape.

The Court document at all material times, the 14-year-old was in the care and custody of the state at the Mahdia School. Following the deadly fire last May, the Government of Guyana (GoG) had commenced the process of giving financial assistance to the relatives of the 20 children who died as a result of the May 21, Mahdia Secondary School dormitory fire.

According to a document seen by this publication, each family will receive, if agreed, the sum of $5 million in financial assistance, which constitutes a settlement of all claims and causes of actions on account of all injuries resulting in death and not resulting in death, that resulted from the fire.

The Ministry of Legal Affairs, in a statement had said that the families were requested to sign an agreement having received independent legal advice. It was noted that while the process of providing this financial assistance is ongoing, as part of the agreement, the government pledged to continue to offer such support as may be necessary to the victims’ families.

Also, the ministry said too that thus far, all the affected families engaged have signed agreements. However, there was no mention of compensation of the survivors of the fire who also suffered severe trauma.

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Independent, lawsuit, Madhia fire, State, survivors

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