The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Free National Movement Senator Maxine Seymour has questioned whether the $941,893.91 awarded to Thorne Clarke, who was left permanently paralysed after being shot by police, will be enough to support him for the rest of his life.

Ms Seymour, a disability and elderly persons advocate, pointed to his lost earning potential and the continuing costs of living with his injuries. Mr Clarke was 22 when he was shot. If he lives to 70, she said, the award would amount to about $377 a week over those 48 years.

"Beyond 70, it would have to stretch even further," she said.

She said Mr Clarke was earning $550 a week part-time when he was shot and had a four-year scholarship to the University of The Bahamas.

"Imagine what he might be earning now, ten years later, with experience, pay raises and opportunities to advance," she said.

She said he is working now, but his injury limits the kinds of work he can do and how much he can earn.

Ms Seymour said that on top of costly medical treatment, Mr Clarke needs equipment, assistance and modifications to make his home accessible. She said those costs fall to him, on top of groceries, electricity, transport and other expenses.

She said she respected the court's decision but did not believe the compensation was enough.

Responding to her concern, Attorney General Wayne Munroe said future losses are currently calculated using a multiplier based on factors including life expectancy. The claimant receives the money upfront, discounted because it is paid before the losses occur. He said he had discussed with the Director of Legal Affairs whether future medical expenses and future loss of earnings could instead be paid as they arise.

Police near Wilson Tract shot Mr Clarke on February 13, 2016. A bullet entered through the rear of his mother's van, struck him in the upper back and severed his spinal cord.

He was left permanently paralysed from the T7-T8 level down. He has no sensation or movement in his lower body and no normal bladder or bowel control. He depends on a wheelchair and cannot drive.

Assistant Registrar Jonathan Deal assessed his damages in a judgment dated September 21, more than ten years after the shooting.

The award includes $425,000 for pain, suffering and loss of amenities and $135,000 for loss of earning capacity. It also includes $126,546 for future medical expenses, $96,264.50 for past loss of earnings and $60,000 for nursing care provided by his mother. He was also awarded $15,000 in aggravated damages and $50,000 in exemplary damages.

The state has already paid Mr Clarke $80,000, leaving $861,893.91 outstanding before interest and costs. Mr Clarke had sought $2,064,219.41, while the defendants proposed about $539,350.

The court heard that Mr Clarke could not return to his former job and was unemployed for about seven and a half years after the shooting. He found temporary work with the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities in 2023. In June 2024, he began working full-time on a non-permanent basis for $1,500 a month.

However, recurring bedsores have affected his work, and he sometimes has to leave early because of them. The court found that his disability placed him at a significant disadvantage in the labour market, and that there was a real possibility he could lose his current job.

His mother gave up her daycare business to care for him full-time from March 2016 to March 2021.

The court also heard that Mr Clarke has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and secondary major depressive disorder. His future medical expenses include $108,000 for diapers, underpads and related supplies over a projected 30 years, and $18,546 for psychotherapy and trauma counselling.

Police said officers were searching for a suspicious-looking man when they saw Mr Clarke get into his mother's van. They said he refused orders to get out and tried to drive away, and that an officer who feared he was about to be struck opened fire.

Mr Clarke said he stopped when ordered and asked why he was being stopped. He said he received no explanation and began driving away before he was shot.

The competing accounts were never tested at a civil trial. Mr Clarke filed his claim in 2018, and judgment in default of defence was entered against the Commissioner of Police and the Attorney General in September 2019.

Mr Clarke has since spoken about complications that developed after his case was heard. In a recent Facebook post, he said he developed a pressure sore from his back brace after all the evidence had been submitted, so it was not considered in the assessment. He also said he has developed scoliosis.

Despite his difficulties, Mr Clarke said he still gets up every day and tries to do his best at work and to support people with disabilities.

"I hope that my story could inspire us," Mr Clarke said, "to create change within the legal system and Bahamian society in general."