A 42-year-old Bahamian man, Lamond Brice, whose family alleged a surgeon at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) admitted to causing an accidental, life-threatening injury during routine surgery, has passed away. His death comes just days after a private air ambulance service offered to fly him to Florida for life-saving treatment completely free of charge, leaving his grieving family to accuse the public hospital of robbing him of his final chance at survival through unnecessary administrative delays.
Brice was first admitted to PMH on September 3 for an operation to remove a non-cancerous growth in his stomach, according to his family’s account. The procedure was supposed to bring him relief from discomfort, and Brice had been optimistic about the outcome, his aunt Malaya Curry said. But his health declined rapidly immediately after the surgery, and his family eventually got a shocking admission from the lead operating surgeon: the doctor had accidentally damaged a key vein during the procedure.
Medical teams at PMH attempted to fix the error by grafting a replacement vein from Brice’s thigh, but a subsequent procedure to restore function to his dying intestines failed. With local doctors saying no further treatment could save Brice’s life, his family launched a push to transfer him to Jackson Health System in Florida for an urgent intestinal transplant. That transfer never materialized, however, as the family says PMH and the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA), the governing body for the country’s public medical facilities, dragged their feet on releasing all required medical and administrative documentation.
When news of Brice’s desperate situation was published in The Tribune, Anthony Marinello, president of private air ambulance firm Tropic Air Rescue, stepped forward on October 8 to offer the flight to Florida at no cost to the family, contingent only on confirmation that Jackson Health would accept the patient and that PMH provided all required paperwork. For Curry and the Brice family, the offer felt like a miracle — a second chance for the vibrant 42-year-old father of a 14-year-old daughter.
That miracle never came to fruition. Brice died last Friday, before the paperwork could be finalized. Speaking to reporters through tears, Curry accused the hospital of intentionally delaying the process to avoid accountability for the alleged surgical error. “They knew what they did. They just let him lay and die for a month,” Curry said. “They failed him 100 percent. Because after all they did to him and still, they never got him any help.”
Curry also claimed that the family was only made aware of post-surgical bleeding and tissue necrosis after Brice died, details she says doctors hid to avoid liability. She added that the PHA provided an incomplete letter for Brice’s passport renewal, adding another unnecessary delay to the transfer process. The family is now not only mourning Brice but also fundraising to cover his funeral costs, after pouring all their energy and resources into the transfer effort. Brice’s 14-year-old daughter has been left deeply traumatized by her father’s ordeal, Curry said, and now lives in fear of seeking hospital care for any future illness.
In an official statement following Brice’s death, the PHA extended its condolences to the Brice family, maintaining that it had processed all of the family’s transfer requests in compliance with established medical, administrative, and procedural protocols. The authority added that it had already provided the required documentation to the receiving Florida hospital and was waiting for the family to complete the next steps in the transfer process, and that it remains available to support the family however it can.
As of yesterday, neither PMH nor Bahamas Health Minister Dr Michael Darville had reached out to the Brice family to offer condolences or address their concerns. The family confirmed last month that they intend to pursue legal action against the hospital over allegations of medical negligence. They are still waiting to receive Brice’s full medical record, months after his initial surgery.