Hospital Inc. for defamatory statements she published back in June 2019. The judgment was handed down on September 3 by high court judge, Justice Fidela Corbin-Lincoln. The judge ruled in favour of the claimants awarding damages of $15 million to the hospital and $20 million to Dr. Singh.

Atwell was also ordered to pay the claimants’ prescribed costs of $3,150,000 and to remove all the defamatory statements she made on her Facebook account. According to the court document seen by this publication, Atwell posted a 33-part story on her Facebook page between June 9th to June 16th 2019, which contained defamatory statements about Dr Singh and the hospital. Dr. Singh is a medical doctor specialising in obstetrics and gynecology and is a director, shareholder, consultant and the chief executive officer of the medical institution. Dr. Singh’s evidence is that to date neither she nor the hospital has been subject to any findings of malpractice, negligence or to any disciplinary action by the medical council.

The defamatory publications were allegedly statements by third parties which Atwell published on her Facebook page. In relation to Dr. Singh, the defamatory statements impute professional malpractice and improper and negligent medical advice and treatment which in some cases endangered the lives and well-being of some patients and in other cases was designed to inflate costs. In relation to the hospital, the defamatory statements impute improper health care practices, medical negligence and malpractice including deliberate misdiagnosis for financial gain, engaging incompetent professionals and improper billing practices. It was noted that the post made by Atwell are a very serious form of libel, as it impacts the professional reputation of the claimants. (Kaieteur News)