Member of Parliament for St James South Donville Inniss wants Public Service Vehicle (PSV) owners to be penalized for the actions of their drivers.
Inniss, speaking during his constituency’s Easter Monday celebrations on Wanstead pasture, St Michael, said he had many concerns brought to him from his constituents about PSVs so it was time to “hit them where it hurts most”.
“I am very concerned about the lawlessness of PSV’s and if left to me, many of the owners and drivers would be locked up,” he said.
Inniss said there was no excuse for the “recklessness” nor the “carnage” on the roads some PSV drivers were responsible for which he said cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars as well as loss of life and turmoil to families.
Inniss, also the Minister of Health, told the WEEKEND NATION that while the Queen Elizabeth Hospital would continue to treat those injured in accidents on the roads, he believed it was time insurance companies paid something back to the state.
“If someone gets into a serious accident they can spend six weeks in the hospital to the tune of a quarter million dollars. Our duty is to get the patient well not to focus on the cost or the circumstance, but it is my view that when these individuals claim for damages the QEH should also claim,” he declared.
Inniss said he was not penalizing insurance companies but it had to be recognized that the hospital also needed to get its fair share.
He said he blamed the public service system for not having the necessary mechanism for such action, adding he had instructed the QEH to improve its systems to accommodate it.
In addition, Inniss said he was concerned over the number of times medical insurers were cancelling policies and the number of policies with fixed maximum amounts.
People needed to be more aware of the fine print, he added.
