A St. Thomas contractor has taken legal action against Roy Lester Schneider Hospital and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Chase, alleging that postponing emergency care for a severe hand wound caused him to lose a finger.
Ijahmi Hunte sustained the injury on the night of March 31, 2025, and reached the hospital within about 20 minutes. His civil complaint, filed in V.I. Superior Court, states that an emergency room physician assessed his condition, determined that hand surgery was urgent, and notified him that a surgeon would be called.
Chase, however, chose to defer the operation until the following day, according to the lawsuit. Hunte says he spent the night in the hospital without receiving sufficient pain relief.
The next morning at roughly 8 a.m., Chase examined Hunte but then left the facility. He did not return to perform surgery until later in the afternoon, the complaint indicates. After the procedure, Hunte's finger turned dark in colour. A nurse assured him this was expected, yet the finger's condition worsened overnight, showing signs of poor blood flow.
Hunte was then told amputation would be necessary. He travelled to New York to seek another medical opinion, where doctors informed him that the finger could have been saved had surgery taken place within eight hours of the injury.
The lawsuit names both Chase and the V.I. Government Hospitals and Health Facilities Corporation as defendants, charging them with simple and gross negligence. The hospital corporation also faces claims of negligent hiring, retention and supervision. The complaint also alleges that Chase may lack adequate malpractice insurance as required under V.I. law.
Hunte's attorney, Lee Rohn, is seeking compensatory damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, legal fees, court costs, and punitive damages where applicable.
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