Legislation is soon to be passed that will make the Government responsible for injuries and damage caused from the lack of maintenance of roadways.

Minister of Justice and Attorney General Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, QC, is taking steps to abolish an 18th-century English common-law principle which had shielded the Government from such liabilities.

A resident from Portland says Minister Lightbourne must be commended for taking the initiative to put an end to the sufferings of many Jamaicans who have been victims of the old law.

"This is one of the functions of government ministers to ensure that its citizens do not suffer undue hardships through no fault of their own and she must be commended for taking action on learning of the plight of the man from Trelawny who was injured when sections of a road caved in on him," the resident said.

"The role of a government is not to oppress people, but find ways to put an end to their sufferings," the resident added.

The man said he knew of several cases where motorists incurred great expenses repairing their motor vehicles because of the bad road conditions.

In March, The Gleaner had reported that 53-year-old farmer and mason, Vincent Green of Allsides district, near Warsop, Trelawny, was a victim of the old law.

Green suffered spinal injury when a section of a roadway in Trelawny collapsed in July 2001, pinning him for hours under a mixture of dirt and asphalt. He is unable to work and, as a result, his children cannot attend school.

He filed a suit against the government in 2005, but was told by his lawyers that government lawyers were relying on the principle of nonfeasance, which bars the Government from liability. The principle states that if the road authorities fail to fix a roadway, the Government is not liable for injuries to a person or damage to motor vehicles.

The attorney general has disclosed that she was going to make an ex-gratia payment to him. She has given instructions to the Legal Reform Department to do the research necessary to review the principle of nonfeasance and advise on the required legislation to impose a duty on the authorities.