Litigation : A trend?

Housewife sues hospital, govt for RM5mil
By EMBUN MAJID

ALOR STAR: A housewife is suing the Government and the Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital for more than RM5mil in damages for alleged negligence that resulted in her suffering chronic kidney failure.

K. Hemalatha, 31, from Taman Sutera, Sungai Petani filed a suit at the Alor Star High Court Registrar Office on Monday.

In the suit, Hemalatha has named the Sultan Abdul Halim Hospital director and the Malaysian Government as the first and second defendants respectively.

She is seeking RM55,557.30 in special compensation, RM5mil in general damages and exemplary compensations, and other relief and cost deemed fit by the court.

In the suit, Hemalatha claimed that she suffered from chronic kidney failure due to the negligence committed by doctors who attended to her when she delivered her fourth child via the Caesarean section on July 11, 2007.

She claimed that the doctors had failed to conduct the necessary tests and diagnose her condition before the surgery.

She also claimed that the doctors had failed to make abdominal and renal evaluation to identify the correct stage of her renal failure before the surgery was performed.

Hemalatha further claimed that her stomach became bloated and she had difficulty in breathing the following day (July 12) after the Caesarean section was done.

She was told by a doctor who examined her that she had internal bleeding.

Hemalatha claimed that she was operated on for the second time on the same day and an ultrasound performed on her later showed that both her kidneys had shrunk.

She claimed that she then underwent an ultrasound at a hospital in Penang on Aug 28, 2007 and was told that both her kidneys have failed to function and she has to undergo dialysis treatment for the rest of her life. She is now under medication.

Much information has been left out in this article and it would be unwise to comment on the rationale for this suit.

However, I find that the press should not highlight litigations when it has yet to be brought forward to the courts. This move deflates confidence in the healthcare system and does little justice to those who have been working hard to maintain a good quality of healthcare. It passes unfair judgements to those involved.

My recommendation to the press is that they should thoroughly research the facts before putting it on paper. Many litigations are done without proper grounds. Highlighting each and every one of them will certainly tarnish the image of healthcare in Malaysia. They should have an independant panel of doctors to decide the factual basis of such allegations.

As of now, the only reason for such a press report is to sensationalise a topic that often times tickles the sensitivities of many, making them a good read.