K
Kiyomori Taira
Guest
Published: Friday January 21, 2011 MYT 2:01:00 PM
Updated: Friday January 21, 2011 MYT 3:44:11 PM
Court awards RM870,000 to couple and son over medical negligence
By HAMDAN RAJA ABDULLAH
MUAR: The High Court here awarded a couple and their 10-year-old son a total of RM870,000 due to medical negligence by two hospitals and the Government during the child’s birth.
The couple Zainab Sam, 45, husband ex-army Sjn Rosli Mohd Amin, 53, and son Ahmad Alif Iqmal Rosli were present when Judicial Commissioner Datuk Ummi Kalthum Abdul Majid passed the decision on Friday.
Subramaniam Nair (centre) explaining to Zainab (left) and Rosli on the outcome of the court's decision while Ahmad Alif (right) looks on.
The plaintiffs had filed a writ against the Segamat and Muar hospitals and the Malaysian Government after the boy suffered paralysis on his left side of the body and brain damage due to the negligence of medical staff during and after his birth in 2000.
According to the writ filed on Aug 12, 2003 by counsel G. Subramaniam Nair, Zainab of Gemas in Negri Sembilan, had sought treatment at the Segamat Hospital during her pregnancy.
Before she was due to deliver, she knew the baby was big and asked the hospital to do a Caesarean section but was told to deliver the baby the normal way as she had diabetes. However, during the delivery, complications arose and the staff on duty pulled the baby’s head while another pressed her stomach.
Due to the difficulty in delivering the baby, which weighed 5.28kg, the baby suffered breathing difficulties and needed oxygen support before he was rushed to the Muar Hospital in an ambulance. During the journey to the Muar Hospital, the oxygen supply ran out before reaching the hospital and the oxygen supply in the ambulance was not functional.
The baby then had to be kept in an incubator for 30 days and fed through a tube fitted to the mouth. Ahmad Alif also faced difficulties in passing motion, a condtion that remains until today. Due to the medical negligence, the couple filed a RM10mil suit against the three defendants as the Ahmad Alif Iqmal would face great difficulties in living until he dies.
According counsel Subramaniam, a medical consultant from a private hospital reported that the boy’s life-span was between 38 years and 50 years. However, a government hospital consultant report stated that the hid life-span was less than 30 years and the court awarded the couple a total of RM870,000.
Later, Zainab told reporters that she was disappointed with the amount as the family had filed for a RM10mil suit but accepted the award in good faith. She and Rosli also thanked Subramaniam who was accompanied by lawyers Visvanathan Nair and Ebrina Zuber.
