THE brouhaha over the $31-million neurosurgical drill sold to the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) by Medical Technologies has mushroomed into a lawsuit filed by the company and Kingston Central Member of Parliament (MP) Donovan Williams against Opposition spokesman on health Dr Alfred Dawes.

The suit was filed in the Supreme Court on Monday afternoon by attorneys representing Williams and Medical Technologies following allegations made by Dawes at a media conference called by the People’s National Party (PNP) last week.

At a news conference last Tuesday Dawes announced that he has asked the Auditor General’s Department and the Integrity Commission to investigate the procurement of the drill for Bustamante Hospital for Children, alleging a “web of corruption” surrounding the controversial purchase.

He raised questions about the procurement process, claiming that the drill may have been a refurbished unit imported months earlier at a fraction of the cost.

Shortly after the press conference, Williams demanded an apology from Dawes over what the MP claimed was an attempt by the PNP spokesman to link him to the company behind the purchase. Williams indicated he was merely a trustee in the company and was making arrangements for the shares to be passed to the rightful owner.

However Dawes, responded: “Go ahead and sue me. I’ll see you in court.” He further said all of his assertions had been backed by proof in writing, which had been turned over to the auditor general and the Integrity Commission.

In the lawsuit, Williams and Medical Technologies’ attorneys claim that Dawes’s statements, “In their natural and ordinary meaning… meant and was understood to mean the claimants are involved in corrupt practices, are involved in selling supplies to the Ministry of Health at a mark-up of 12,400 per cent and are thereby involved in theft from and the figurative ‘rape’ of Jamaican taxpayers.”

The claimants’ lawyers also said the publication of the statement by Dawes “has caused and/or is likely to cause serious harm to the reputation of their clients”.

“Since the media conference, there has been an online petition to boycott Meditech. Since the media conference, Meditech staff have come under harassment and, in consequence, the first claimant (Meditech) has had to put extra security measures in place,” the court filing stated.

Williams and Medical Technologies are seeking damages for defamation, including exemplary damages as well as claims for special damages.

The MP and Medical Technologies are also claiming interest at such rate and for such period as the court thinks just on the amounts awarded for special damages.

Both Medical Technologies and Williams have applied for an injunction restraining Dawes “whether by himself, his servants, or agents or otherwise from further publishing or causing to be published the said or similar statements defamatory” of them.

The claimants are also seeking to have Dawes ordered to pay their legal feels for the alleged defamatory statements.

The attorneys for Williams and Medical Technologies have also attached to their court filings a series of documents which they reasoned support their claim that Dawes’ statements about the circumstances in which SERHA obtained the drill are reckless, untrue and defamatory of their clients.

Dr Dawes has insisted that the drill could have been obtained at a cheaper cost. At the same time, SERHA has argued that it abided by the procurement process and that the purchase represents value for money as the equipment is key to saving the lives of children at Bustamante Hospital for Children.

Last week, Medical Technologies issued a statement and noted that it has not yet been paid for the equipment despite it being used at the hospital. The company also insisted that the process by which it won the bid concerning the drill was above board.