Hospital manager wins libel damages

A hospital nursing manager at Zammit Clapp Hospital has been awarded Lm500 in libel damages after a magistrate upheld her claim that an article published in The Malta Independent was libellous in nature.

Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna ruled that the article entitled Zammit Clap(t)trap, published in the newspaper's December 3, 2001 issue was libellous.

Lora Cascun, a nursing manager, had filed a case asking the court to liquidate damages suffered through the article which spoke about problems at the hospital. She filed the case against the author of the article Simone Zammit Endrich and the newspaper's editor Fr Noel Grima.

After hearing evidence brought by Ms Cascun, the magistrate noted that Ms Zammit Endrich and Fr Grima had not produced evidence to show that what was alleged in the article constituted fair comment.

For this reason the magistrate upheld Ms Cascun's request. He ordered Ms Zammit Endrich to pay her Lm200 and Fr Grima to pay Lm300.