Woman claims ‘wrongful dismissal’ from insurance firm

A former employee of Sagicor General in Barbados is suing the insurance company for more than half million dollars in damages, claiming she was wrongfully dismissed on May 16, 2018. Andrea Eli-Jones, who served the firm for 28 years and held the positions of Client Services and Underwriting Representative is expected to have her day in court on June 22.

Elie-Jones, through her attorney filed a Statement of Claim in the High Court in December 2018, and since then efforts were made to reach an out of court settlement, which has so far been unsuccessful.

In court documents filed, the claimant alleges that management personnel at the general insurance company caused her to suffer occupational stress and discrimination.

“The defendant company over the course of its employment of the claimant, in various ways, by its discriminatory, unfair and demeaning actions and those of its employees, acting during the course of their employment as servants and or agents…by its negligence and or reckless behavior, caused occupational stress and other injury to the claimant, which resulted in damage, pain, injury and suffering,” declared the former Sagicor General employee in her court claim.

The claimant is therefore asking the court to grant her general damages totally more than $506,000 that include loss of future earnings and injury to health over the years, and special damages in excess of $95,000 comprising medical expenses and future loss of pension.

In an interview with Barbados TODAY Elie-Jones said what she had to endure as an employee of Sagicor General amounted to a double-whammy, with her having also to deal with the loss of her husband.

“Going through the trauma and pain of losing my best friend, lover and someone that knew all that I am suffering…and now that he is gone, I have nobody who can hear my cry, who can advise me how to go and this hurts so much,” she lamented.

However, the former Sagicor worker said that being a dedicated employee she would not allow the lingering emotional trauma to destroy her and that she intended to draw hope and comfort from Almighty God.

Barbados TODAY reached out to Sagicor General through its attorney at law Barry Gale, Q.C., for comment.

“All I would say is that Sagicor is convinced that it has not done anything wrong in relation to the claimant as set out in our defence and is content for the High Court to make its own adjudication and determination on the matter,” Gale stated.

In a 13-page defence which has been filed in the High Court, the insurance company admits that it was under a duty of care to provide a safe system of working for the claimant but denies that she was “summarily” dismissed. The company also dismisses the suggestion that its actions as an employer caused any “pain, injury or suffering” as alleged at Elie-Jones.

The company is also rejecting claims by Elie-Jones that there was constant pressure, discrimination and prejudicial treatment and urged her to bring the evidence.

“The defendant denies the claimant sustained injury to her health and loss of income by virtue of the alleged sustained and cumulative effect of all the foregoing, the negligence and or deliberate acts and or omissions of the defendant, its servants and or agents as alleged…and puts the claimant to strict proof of the same,” Sagicor stated in its defence document.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb