Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter

A former Air Jamaica Ltd. worker, who was shackled and detained by United States authorities because he did not have the proper visa to work there, had his Supreme Court award of $1.5 million against Air Jamaica increased to $2.5 million by the Court of Appeal.

Neil Collman, an aircraft technician, had sued Air Jamaica for negligence and breach of contract.

He said he was employed to the airline in November 2000 when he was assigned to do relief work in Philadelphia, U.S.A. He said while on the job, he was summoned to the Customs office at the airport and informed he would be detained and returned to Jamaica on the next available flight because he did not have the appropriate visa to work.

18-hour detention

The Immigration and Naturalisa-tion Services took charge of him and he was held in detention for 18 hours. Collman said he was detained because Air Jamaica did not secure the appropriate visa which would have allowed him to perform the assigned work.

He described being shackled, jailed and humiliated. He said he felt abandoned by Air Jamaica, which he believed could have secured a lawyer to assist him.

On June 27, 2006, the Supreme Court awarded Collman $1.5 million following an assessment hearing. Air Jamaica appealed the award and contended that it should not have exceeded $500,000.

Collman, who was represented by attorneys-at-law Gordon, Robinson and Winsome Marsh, counterclaimed that the award was too low.

"The loss of liberty ought not to be treated lightly," the court held and referred to the trial judge's finding that Collman was treated as "a common criminal". The court, in increasing the award, said besides the injury to liberty, it had to consider the disgrace and the humiliation suffered and the resultant depression. The court held that an award of $2.5 million was adequate.

barbara.gayle@gleanerjm.com