A senior official of the Ministry of Labour has denied that the Ministry had encouraged a widow to accept a certain amount of compensation for the death of her husband.The woman, Denise Smith, is seeking a settlement with her late husband’s employer to the tune of $5M as stated in a writ filed in the High Court by her attorney Mortimer Coddett.In happier times: Denise Smith and her husband Jerry. Smith’s husband, Jerry Smith perished on January 17, last, after falling from a two-storey building on the East Coast of Demerara, which he had climbed on the instruction of his employer to clear a gutter.In a previous article carried in this newspaper was quoted as saying that the Ministry had encouraged Smith to accept a $300,000 offer from her late husband’s employer, Vishnu Ramdial of Vish Trading Company Inc,Cheap Jerseys Free, after an initial $1M was offered.But according to the official,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, the Ministry never made any intervention with regards to compensation for Smith.“That is totally untrue. We are not forcing anybody to accept any settlement. We at the Ministry do not take such offers lightly because no amount of money could pay for a life,Jerseys NFL Wholesale,” the official told this newspaper.According to the official,Wholesale China Jerseys, the Ministry received a letter from Coddett on June 17 in relation to the matter but efforts to contact him to ventilate the issue proved futile. But he had reportedly moved to the courts since January.The Ministry then contacted the attorney representing the dead man’s former employer and she informed that Coddett had already filed a motion in the High Court.The attorney confirmed that the $1M dollar was still an option.However the Ministry subsequently learnt that Coddett had requested 25 per cent of whatever compensation that is offered to his client.There are reports that the dead man’s employer had even agreed to pay the applicant’s legal fees to the tune of $100,000, in addition to the $1M being offered to the dead man’s wife.The Ministry official pointed out that Coddett requested that the compensation cheque be written in his name.“The employer’s lawyer had written to Coddett since February with an offer but he refused. Apart from his initial letter,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, Mr. Coddett never contacted the Ministry of Labour on the matter.The Ministry does not arrange for persons to take any money since we cannot put a value to anyone’s life. In this case, the dead man’s wife will have to make that decision,Wholesale Adidas Hockey Jerseys,” the Labour Ministry official pointed out.