Judge to deliver verdict in Dr Carl Bruce assault case on September 21

Consultant neurosurgeon Dr Carl Bruce is set to learn his fate on September 21 in the assault case in which he is accused of beating fellow neurosurgeon Dr Roger Hunter and damaging his shirt and tie nearly 19 years ago.

Parish Judge Alwayne Smith today set the date after the trial concluded in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court, having earlier ruled that Bruce has a case to answer.

The judge is expected to deliver his ruling.

Bruce, who is the medical chief of staff at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), is facing charges of assault occasioning bodily harm and malicious destruction of property arising from an alleged incident on July 31, 2007.

The matter was reported to the police in November 2024 and was first mentioned in court last April, before the trial commenced in April this year with Hunter as the Crown's sole witness.

During his testimony, Hunter told the court that the alleged incident occurred in an operating theatre at UHWI while he was preparing for surgery.

He testified that Bruce entered the room, ordered him to leave while using expletives, then moved towards him, shoved him, and grabbed his shirt and tie, causing damage.

Hunter further alleged that Bruce struck him in the head and chest and punched him in the abdomen before repeatedly threatening to spit in his face and leaving the room.

He said he did not report the matter earlier because he had migrated and was pursuing a medical fellowship overseas.

Today, under cross-examination by King's Counsel Tom Tavares-Finson, Hunter was questioned about inconsistencies between his witness statement and his testimony in court.

"Nowhere in the statement does the narrative that you were set upon and savagely beaten by Mr Bruce appear?" Tavares-Finson suggested, noting that the words "punched" and "hit" were not used.

Hunter agreed but said alternative wording had been used and insisted that he had given the police a second, more detailed statement.

He further told the court that he had also provided a statement to the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA).

Hunter said he had visited the police on several occasions but explained that when his initial statement was taken, a tropical storm was affecting conditions.

He said the weather had improved when he later gave a statement to the FLA.

He also told the court that he was not aware of a specific UHWI code of conduct prohibiting violence between staff but was aware of a broader code of conduct when he took his oath.

According to Hunter, he reported the matter to more than two members of staff and also made a formal complaint to the hospital's human resources department.

Questioned by Tavares-Finson about the report to the FLA, Hunter said he had been advised that Bruce was in possession of a firearm and acted on instructions from senior police officials to make the report, though he conceded he had never seen Bruce with a firearm.

Tavares-Finson suggested that the report to the FLA was motivated by malice, which Hunter denied.

The court further heard from Hunter that he did not seek medical attention following the alleged assault.

"I am suggesting to you that at no time did Mr Bruce attack you," the attorney said.

"Absolutely not. That brute assaulted me... he is a brute; he has attacked several people," Hunter replied.

He also rejected suggestions that his complaints were driven by professional jealousy, insisting he harboured no malice towards Bruce.

The lawyer suggested that everything he was saying was motivated by malice, but Hunter insisted it was not.

He further said Bruce could not "walk in his shoes," noting differences in their qualifications and achievements.

"He does not have any fellowship, he does not have any honorary degree, he does not have an undergraduate honours degree in medicine; he got a standard pass," Hunter said.

"But he is now in charge of UHWI and you don't have a job," the lawyer fired back.

Tavares-Finson then suggested that Hunter was motivated by professional jealousy, to which Hunter replied, "I am not jealous of that boy."

During re-examination by his attorney, Hugh Wildman, who is prosecuting on a fiat, Hunter described Bruce as a "gorilla," claiming that Bruce had previously attacked him in January 2003 and shoved him, almost causing him to fall on his head.

Further in his evidence, Hunter described Bruce as a criminal and repeatedly referred to him as a brute but was instructed by the judge to desist and refer to him by name.

He, however, admitted that he did not report the alleged 2003 incident to the police but had mentioned it to a consultant neurosurgeon and a human resources representative.

- Tanesha Mundle

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