(Trinidad Express) Lisa McKenzie, widow of deceased popular bar owner, Ricardo McKenzie, on Thursday confirmed she will be taking legal action against the Brian Lara Cancer Treatment Centre (BLCTC), where she claimed her late husband was a victim of over-radiation during treatment.
Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan said on Wednesday that the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) had confirmed an error in the calibration of centre’s machine between June 2009 and June 2010.
McKenzie, 56, who co-owned Smokey’s and Bunty’s in St James, died at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Florida, USA, on December 21, 2010, following a series of treatments locally and abroad for a brain tumour.
Lisa McKenzie said prior to her husband’s death, he was diagnosed by his doctors at Jackson Memorial with “radiation necrosis” in the head, which is the death of tissue due to possible over-radiation.
McKenzie was treated at the centre at Fitzblackman Drive, Woodbrook, during the time the centre’s radiation machine was thought to have been miscalibrated.
McKenzie’s legal team is being led by Osbourne Charles, SC, who is looking to expedite the matter after months of gathering information and reports.
Up to early this year, Chief Medical Officer Dr Anton Cumberbatch and former health minister, Therese Baptiste-Cornelis, as well as PAHO itself, refused to release the PAHO report despite repeated requests from the Express.
