Question on fete injuries

MAYBE it is time for fete promoters to be required by law to provide insurance coverage in the event of injurious accidents at their crowded events. The need for this is a matter that the authorities may want to consider having regard to the apparently inadequate measures taken at these fetes to ensure the safety of patrons.

A case in point is what happened at last Sunday’s recent Alternative Concert fete held at MOBS2, Chaguaramas, when a burst of fireworks, instead of shooting into the sky, arched into the crowd, injuring a number of patrons. We will have to wait until the Fire Services has completed its investigation into this incident but we have been told by Chief Fire Officer Lennox Alfred that the fireworks that went in another direction may have been a defective one or an old type. Whatever the findings of the probe, we are sure that those persons who were injured by the deviant fireworks would want to know who is responsible for the burns they suffered and the medical bills they have incurred as a result.

The worst among the victims was 24-year-old Marissa Lewis of Carenage who sustained second degree burns to her face. Lewis told this newspaper that she has already spent thousands of dollars for treatment to her facial injuries which she described as “too terrible.” She is under the care of a skin specialist and may eventually lose the sight of her left eye. When Newsday spoke to her earlier this week, Lewis said she had not received any compensation from those who conducted the fireworks display but her mother-in-law, Myrtle Sinnette, disclosed that the Montanos had promised to compensate her daughter-in-law.

In his series on Carnival and Insurance, Bernard Aquing, Chartered Insurer Consultant to the Association of Trinidad and Tobago Insurance Companies, gives an interesting, if somewhat gloomy, insight into the state of this issue. “These events,” he writes, “are not cheap to attend and patrons are certainly more aware of their rights and are therefore quick to seek redress and compensation where they believe that the promoters have not paid sufficient attention to their wellbeing resulting in their injury, distress or trauma. “This is the prevailing climate for the insurance industry. On the one hand, insurance companies are being approached to provide public liability insurance cover for these events but this business is considered quite unattractive with many leading companies simply refusing to give cover. “Wherever cover is granted, the stipulations are quite onerous and, in some cases, the promoters have no intention of complying. They may have a piece of paper stating that insurance is in place, but it is quite another matter if the insurance company takes a position that it would invoke the policy conditions and deny claims which it is entitled to do and, in effect, no cover ever existed because promoters did not comply with the policy conditions.

“At the end of the day, it all comes down to attitude and our culture. As a people, we pay too little attention to safety and we take too many risks and pray that nothing will happen. That attitude must change because that is unacceptable behaviour and we must take responsibility for our actions or inaction. Carnival might well be a period when madness reigns, but even in the madness there must be accountability and fete promoters owe a duty to patrons for a safe and secure venue where no harm will come to them and to ensure that they have taken all such precautions that a reasonable person would take in the circumstances.” Aquing sheds light on an important issue of public safety. Clearly it is an area that must be developed to the point where all parties are best served. We agree that this would require a change both in attitude and in our culture of recklessness.