ST. THOMAS — A contractor who suffered a severe saw injury to his hand is suing the V.I. Government Hospitals and Health Facilities Corporation and an orthopedic surgeon, alleging that delays in emergency surgery at Roy Lester Schneider Hospital caused damage that ultimately required one of his fingers to be amputated.
Ijahmi Hunte says he was seriously injured on the night of March 31, 2025, and arrived at Schneider roughly 20 minutes later. According to his civil complaint filed in V.I. Superior Court, he was placed in a hospital gown and was awaiting treatment in the emergency room when a physician began assessing his injury.
Hunte alleges that during the initial evaluation, the emergency room physician asked whether he had medical insurance. He said he did not. According to the lawsuit, the physician nevertheless determined that emergency hand surgery was necessary and told Hunte that a surgeon was being summoned.
The surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Chase, subsequently decided that the procedure could wait until the following morning, the complaint alleges. Hunte contends that while he remained hospitalized overnight, he was “not properly treated or provided adequate pain management.”
According to the lawsuit, Chase examined Hunte at approximately 8 a.m. the following morning. Hunte alleges that he was again asked whether he had medical insurance and again said he was uninsured.
The complaint says Chase then left the hospital and did not return until later that afternoon, when he performed surgery on Hunte’s injured hand.
Following the procedure, Hunte noticed that the injured finger had become discolored, according to the lawsuit. A nurse reportedly told him that the appearance was normal, but by the following morning the condition of the finger had deteriorated and appeared to show inadequate circulation.
Several hours later, Hunte was informed that the finger would have to be amputated, the complaint says. Rather than immediately proceeding with the amputation, he decided to seek a second opinion and traveled to New York.
There, according to the lawsuit, physicians determined that the finger was too badly damaged to save. Hunte alleges he was told that “surgery needed to have occurred within the first eight (8) hours after the injury” for the finger to have been preserved.
The complaint places responsibility for the eventual amputation on both Chase and the hospital system, arguing that the delay between Hunte’s injury, his arrival at the emergency room and the eventual surgery amounted to negligent medical care.
Chase and the V.I. Government Hospitals and Health Facilities Corporation are accused of both simple and gross negligence relating to Hunte’s treatment. The corporation, which oversees Schneider Regional Medical Center and its Roy Lester Schneider Hospital, also faces claims of negligent hiring, retention and supervision.
The lawsuit raises a separate allegation regarding Chase’s malpractice coverage. Hunte contends that the hospital corporation “should have known that Dr. Chase was uninsured or inadequately insured under the Medical Malpractice Act, and was unfit or incompetent to provide emergency surgical care.”
That assertion remains an allegation in the complaint. Public professional information identifies Chase as a board-certified orthopedic surgeon who has practiced in the U.S. Virgin Islands since 2000 and whose work includes orthopedic and surgical care.
Virgin Islands law requires health-care providers covered by the territory’s Medical Malpractice Act to maintain professional liability protection through an approved insurance policy, the government’s self-insurance program or other qualifying malpractice coverage.
Hunte argues that the defendants’ alleged failures caused permanent injury and the loss of his finger. Through attorney Lee Rohn, he is asking the court to award damages against both Chase and the hospital corporation, along with pre- and post-judgment interest, attorneys’ fees and costs.
The complaint also seeks punitive damages where permitted and warranted by the facts.
