An attendant at a poultry farm, who has been unable to return to work since being shot in his back during an attempted robbery in March, has threatened to sue his employer for negligence.
The legal threat was made by Neil Letren, through his attorney Richard Jaggasar, in a pre-action protocol letter sent to the general manager of Arawak and Company Limited on Thursday.
Jaggasar claimed that his client was wounded as he attempted to stop a robbery at the company’s Demerara Tunnel Farm on March 10.
The bullet fractured one of Letren’s vertebrae and one of his ribs.
He was subsequently assessed to be ten per cent permanently partially disabled and was unable to return to work.
“As a result of the injury, the Intended Claimant has constant lower back pain, and he is unable to bend and perform strenuous activities,” Jaggasar said.
“He now frequently needs physiotherapy to help aid and improve his function,” he added.
Jaggasar claimed that between 2015 and 2017, there were frequent robberies at the facility, including one in which Letren’s co-worker was pistol-whipped and another in which another worker was shot in his leg.
He claimed that his client and his colleagues requested additional security measures but were ignored.
“In response to these persistent and repeated violent robberies the Intended Defendant’s only response to provide a safe and secure working environment was the installation of approximately 25 signs and some lights at the back of the pen,” he said.
Jaggasar claimed the company was responsible for Letren’s injury by failing to provide a safe work environment.
“To make matters worse, the Intended Claimant ought not to have been placed in the unsafe environment and was only there because of his job responsibilities. It was indeed an unnecessary event,” Jaggasar said.
Referring to several personal injury cases decided by the local courts, Jaggasar suggested that his client would forgo pursuing the case if he was paid $500,000 in compensation.
The suggested compensation is to cover the pain and suffering endured by Letren and the losses he suffered as a result.
Jaggasar gave the company 14 days in which to respond to the legal threat.
“We are of the view that this matter ought to be resolved amicably and quickly,” he said.