Court Awards RM1.8 Mln To Ex-Security Guard Over Medical Negligence

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 (Bernama) -- The Taiping High Court has awarded RM1.8 million in damages to a former security guard who sustained a brain injury due to medical negligence during treatment following a motorcycle accident in 2016.

Judge Noor Ruwena Md Nurdin found that the plaintiff P. Thinnagaran, 28, had proved his claims on a balance of probabilities and allowed most of his claims against the defendants.

"This court awarded general, special, and aggravated damages, and the defendants were collectively ordered to pay the plaintiff a total amount of RM1.8 million including costs of RM150,000," she said in her judgment released on Dec 24.

Thinnagaran filed the suit in 2019, naming the government, the Taiping Hospital director, and three doctors as defendants for medical negligence.

In her judgment, Noor Ruwena said this was indeed a tragic case in which the permanent damage to the plaintiff's brain could have been avoided if the defendants had properly diagnosed, treated, and monitored him more closely after he was admitted to Hospital Taiping following the accident on Jan 2, 2016. 

She added that the injuries sustained at the hospital were clearly the result of the defendants' breach of duty of care and not due to any contributory negligence on the part of the plaintiff. 

The judge said the court found that the first to third defendants had failed in their respective parts in the treatment and diagnosis of the plaintiff for Fat Embolism Syndrome (FES) and subsequently in the intubation required to save his life.

"The injuries suffered by the plaintiff as a result of the defendants' collective breach of duty of care also consisted of mental trauma. His mental health suffered in the sense that there was cognitive impairment.

“The plaintiff was stressed and not his usual self anymore after the whole episode and had to rely on others for his personal needs, she said.

Noor Ruwena further explained that, given the plaintiff's current condition, he still required his mother's care as his primary caregiver, forcing her to quit her job, with a salary of RM1,300 per month.

"The plaintiff is the eldest of four siblings and was not highly educated. He earned RM800 monthly as a security guard before the accident and due to his impairments, he was unable to return to his employment," she added.

The defendants have appealed against the entire decision and filed a notice of appeal on Aug 2. 

According to the facts of the case, Thinnagaran sustained injuries in a collision with a car while riding his motorcycle along Jalan Transkrian at 1.05 pm on Jan 2, 2016.

He was taken to Taiping Hospital, where measures were taken to prevent FES caused by multiple long bone fractures sustained in the accident.

FES is a potentially life-threatening condition in which tiny fat particles, typically released from fractured bones or severe injuries, enter the bloodstream.

This can lead to symptoms such as respiratory distress, neurological confusion, and rashes that appear as small red spots on the skin.

It was alleged that the plaintiff's condition was not monitored between 2 am and 6.50 am on Jan 3, 2016, despite the high risk of FES, which he subsequently developed at 7 am.

The doctors decided to stabilise Thinnagaran's condition before proceeding with surgery at 8 pm on Jan 3.

However, by then a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan revealed that Thinnagaran had suffered a brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen and blood flow.

-- BERNAMA