Insurance firm agrees to cover medical bills

An RCIPS officer in front of the Cayman Islands Hospital

(CNS): A local insurance firm has confirmed that it will be covering the medical bills of a man who was stabbed by a security guard and needed hospital treatment for very serious injuries. Jose Sanchez almost died when Kenroy Rowe stabbed him close to the heart during an altercation outside a George Town bar last year. During the sentencing hearing the court heard that Sanchez’ insurance company had refused to pay but the company denied that this week and said they would cover the bills.

Sanchez worked as a waiter at the George Town Yacht Club and was covered by the restaurant’s health policy. However, his hospital bills were not paid in the first instance because the insurance firm said the police report they received was not clear and the medical expenses would not have been covered had Sanchez been responsible for starting the fight, regardless of the extent of his injuries.

But the judge made it clear last week when he delivered his ruling, sending Rowe to jail for six years for wounding, that it was not Sanchez who had caused the fight but a third man who had been at the bar with him that night. Justice Charles Quin had urged the firm to reconsider its position on the medical claim. He said Sanchez could not hope to receive compensation from Rowe because he was to be incarcerated and, as a Jamaican national, he will be deported on his release.

However, a spokesperson for the insurance company confirmed Tuesday that the bills would be paid. He said the firm had never refused to meet the claim but had been waiting for the facts of the case to emerge.

“We were waiting for more details as the original police report supplied to us said very little and we could not be certain that the policyholder was not responsible,” he said, adding that now they knew Sanchez was not to blame they would be taking care of the medical expenses.