Nurse with Guillain-Barré syndrome sues Social Development Ministry

FORMER nurse Ruth Peters is paralysed from the neck down, with 90 per cent disability. Her doctors have diagnosed her with Guillain-Barré syndrome, but she was denied a disability grant because she is not considered “permanently disabled.”

Peters today received the permission of Justice Eleanor Honeywell-Donaldson to challenge a policy of the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services and the Central Public Assistance Board.

In applying for leave for judicial review, her lawyers, Jagdeo Singh, Dinesh Rambally, Kiel Taklalsingh, Stefan Ramkissoon and Rhea Khan, argued before the judge that the requirement that a person must be permanently disabled to receive a grant went against the Public Assistance Grant regulations and should be expunged.

Guillain-Barré syndrome is a rare, serious auto-immune disorder in which the immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system and causes paralysis.

Peters, in her lawsuit, said she tried to apply for a disability grant but was told to qualify for a disability grant, her medical report must say she was permanently disabled.

Her lawyers have argued that she was certified as being 90 per cent disabled for a year, and although it has been explained to her that she may make a full recovery from her disability, she is unable to work.

The lawsuit contends that the policy of the ministry that a person must be certified as being permanently disabled was illegal, as the Public Assistance Act only stipulates that the applicant must be “in the opinion of the local board so disabled that he is unable to earn a livelihood and has been certified by a medical officer as being so disabled.

“The clear intention of the Public Assistance Act is to provide financial assistance to persons who may be unable to work because of disability.

“The mandatory requirement for permanence is not contemplated by the said Act and its imposition in the criteria is not in keeping with the intent and policy of the said act,” Peters’ lawsuit contends.

Peters fell ill while on duty at the Sangre Grande hospital on July 24, 2018. She was then diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, and since then has been unable to work.

She has two young children, nine and six, and her common-law husband is a construction worker with a modest income, her lawsuit says. Her father applied for the disability grant on her behalf and her lawsuit contends she is eligible to benefit from a Public Assistance Grant.