WILLEMSTAD - The government owes Maureen Verginie an advance of 250,000 guilders. During Marcha di Despedida in 2014, a dilapidated wall fell over, leaving Verginie with a spinal cord injury. After years of feud between her and the government, it was decided at the beginning of this week that Curaçao must pay the advance within two weeks.
The procedure has been ongoing since 2018. Richard Pols, Verginie's lawyer, says that an actuarial calculation must first take place before the final judgment can be handed down. Verginie was 60 years old when the wall fell on her and ten other people during Carnival. “I heard screaming around me, people were stepping over me and on me, there was general panic,” Verginie told the media in 2014.
Pols states that the interim judgment was to be expected, after everything that the incident has caused at Verginie. In addition, he says that now that the judgment coincides with the carnival period, the government must now be even more aware of the safety of spectators along the carnival route.
The interim judgment came about after experts took care of the situation, bearing in mind that Verginie was a fit and very athletic woman before the accident. In addition, it was likely that she would continue to work for the tax authorities, despite her retirement age. However, this was not possible because the tax building could not provide the facilities Verginie needed to do her job properly.
“It is to be expected that all these circumstances will be taken into account for the final verdict.” said the experts.