KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has ordered a private hospital and two of its doctors to pay RM5.1 million in damages to the estate of the former CEO of highway operator, Prolintas, who suffered brain damage following surgery.
Justice Arief Emran Arifin ruled that Pusat Pakar Tawakal Sdn Bhd, along with an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgeon and an anaesthetist, were liable for medical negligence.
The compensation, the court decided, must be paid to Datin Nor Rizam Abdul Wahab, as the wife and administrator of Zainudin's estate, who had filed the lawsuit in 2018.
Zainudin died in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The judge also directed the three parties involved to pay RM210,000 in costs to the administrator of Zainudin's estate.
"The bulk of the damages are due to the loss of earnings as the victim was employed and earned RM65,000 a month, while RM500,000 is for pain and suffering.
"It is not the court's function to punish the doctors or the hospital but to compensate the plaintiff.
"The brain damage occurred due to early discharge post-surgery, in addition to several incidents in the ward," he said in a judgment dated June 5 and uploaded via the e-Judiciary management system.
According to the case facts, Zainudin was admitted to the hospital on Feb 22, 2016, and underwent nasal surgery four days later. The surgery began at 5.45pm and ended at 8.05pm, before Zainudin collapsed at 9.30pm.
According to hospital protocol, doctors must observe patients in the recovery area for at least an hour after the reversal of anaesthesia before transferring them to the ward. In this case, the observation lasted only 25 minutes. As the patient was still drowsy, the surgeon intubated the oesophagus instead of the trachea, leading to brain damage.
The judge noted that the damage resulted from a sequence of errors, including premature discharge from the postoperative recovery area and several unfortunate events in the ward.
"The defendants are all jointly and severally liable for what happened and cannot shift the blame solely onto the second defendant (the ENT surgeon)," Arief said.
Lawyers Manmohan Singh Dhillon and Aika Zulaika Yusof represented the plaintiff. Felix Raj and Ahmad Aizek Busu appeared for the hospital, Navamalar Ganesan for the ENT surgeon, and Barvina Punnusamy for the anaesthetist.
All defendants have filed an appeal concerning liability and the amount awarded.