NASSAU, BAHAMAS: A Supreme Court registrar has awarded a woman nearly $40,000 in damages after finding she suffered physical and psychological injuries when a flaming dish ignited her clothing at Sapodilla Fine Dining Restaurant in 2016, rejecting much of her larger $150,932 claim.
In a judgment delivered on August 5, Registrar Renaldo Toote awarded Cherelle Cartwright a total of $39,515.86 in damages after assessing the extent of the injuries she sustained during the July 16, 2016 incident at the West Bay Street restaurant.
The assessment followed a default judgment entered in March 2022, which established Sapodilla of West Bay Ltd.’s liability and left the court to determine the appropriate amount of compensation.
According to the judgment, Cartwright was attending a class reunion when her clothing was accidentally ignited during the preparation or presentation of a flaming dish by a server. She sustained partial-thickness second-degree burns to her right thigh and leg, affecting approximately five percent of her body, and later underwent treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and major depressive affective disorder.
Cartwright sought a total award of $150,932, including compensation for physical pain and suffering, psychiatric injury and special damages. However, the defendant argued that the claim significantly overstated the extent of her injuries and that the medical evidence showed the burns healed quickly without lasting physical impairment.
In assessing the evidence, Registrar Toote accepted the medical reports of plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Colleen Fitzcharles and psychologist Dr. Novia Carter. He found that while the claimant suffered genuine physical injuries and compensable psychiatric trauma, the evidence did not establish a continuing psychiatric disorder after she completed treatment in 2017.
The court awarded $20,000 for physical pain, suffering and loss of amenity, $10,000 for psychiatric injury, and $9,515.86 in special damages, bringing the total award to $39,515.86.
The registrar also rejected or reduced several aspects of the claimant’s claim. The court declined to award damages for proposed future laser treatment, previous attorney’s fees, loose-fitting clothing, transportation costs and the cost of a meal, finding those items were either not sufficiently pleaded or not strictly proved.
The claimant’s claim for lost earnings from cancelled musical performances was also reduced. While the court accepted that she lost legitimate performance opportunities during her recovery, it found there was insufficient documentary evidence to support the full amount sought and awarded $5,000 instead of the nearly $7,900 claimed.
The court further awarded Cartwright pre-judgment and post-judgment interest in accordance with the Civil Procedure (Award of Interest) Act and ordered Sapodilla of West Bay Ltd. to pay $17,562 in costs.
