A former policeman who was awarded damages after suffering chronic kidney problems due to toxic mould at Somerset Police Station has donated $5,000 to the dialysis unit in Bermuda.

Emmerson Donald, who is currently awaiting a kidney transplant in the United States, received a $5.4 million payout from the Supreme Court last October.

He asked his lawyer, Richard Horseman, to make a donation to the island’s dialysis unit that treated him while he lived in Bermuda.

“Emmerson wanted to say thank you,” Mr Horseman said. “He underwent significant periods of treatment at the unit and he is extremely grateful for all the medical assistance he received in Bermuda.

“Since the court case, Emmerson has returned to the United States and is currently waiting to undergo a kidney transplant.”

Mr Donald took his case against the Department of Works and Engineering to the Supreme Court last year claiming his “body and mind were broken down” and his “life was hijacked” by the illness.

The department admitted liability and after hearing arguments from both sides, a damages award was provisionally set at a little over $4.5 million. However, the final figure was increased to $5.4 million. The case spanned six years and is one of the largest personal injury judgments to come out of the Bermuda courts.

Lisa Sheppard, development director of the Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Trust, said the donation would go towards the upkeep of the dialysis unit in the acute care wing of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

“The BHCT is always grateful for donations to help support the work done by the Bermuda Hospitals Board,” she added.