KUALA LUMPUR – Vimal Raj Krishnasamy, a teenager who had three limbs amputated, and his family are suing the Health Ministry for negligence.
However, the ministry, in its statement of defence, said the boy’s condition is due to his parents’ negligence.
Along with other defendants in the case, the ministry is claiming negligence on the part of Vimal Raj’s parents for the following reasons:
- Failure to properly provide the patient’s medical history;
- Failure to ensure the patient’s health was taken care of when he was at home;
- Failure to ensure that the patient took antibiotics and antiviral medication given by the hospital;
- Failure to ensure the patient’s good hygiene when he was at home or outside;
- Bringing the patient to attend Thaipusam festivities, causing him to be exposed to worse infections;
- Failure to provide the patient with a period of recovery; and,
- Delay and failure to bring the patient to the hospital quickly, causing his condition to deteriorate.
The defendants also said they “discharged their duties with due care and skill, according to generally approved medical practice”.
While Vimal Raj said he first went to Ampang Hospital’s emergency department at 11.33pm on January 14, 2019 due to an allergic reaction involving his scrotum, the defendants are arguing that it was swelling.
“Early information obtained by the medical officer at the emergency department found that Vimal Raj was referred to a clinic and diagnosed with acute balanitis,” said the statement of defence.
At the emergency department, the medical officer diagnosed the boy with “partially treated epididymo-orchitis”.
Acute balanitis and epididymo-orchitis refer to swelling of the testicles or scrotum area due to infection, including sexually transmitted ones.
Vimal Raj was required to undergo blood and urine tests. He was warded at 3.30am the following day.
Subsequently, he was referred to the dermatology department, where dermatology and surgery specialists diagnosed him with “superficial ulceration, unable to rule out herpes zoster/herpes simplex”.
The defendants said the teen was discharged on January 17, 2019, and his condition allowed him to continue treatment at home.
Vimal Raj was brought to the hospital again five days later with a fever – and conscious.
This is despite his parents’ claim that he was found unconscious at home, said the statement of defence.
About 10pm, however, a medical officer found Vimal Raj to be unconscious, and moved him to the hospital’s critical zone.
The defendants said the claims by Vimal Raj’s parents that they were forced to sign a blank consent form are false.
The boy was given a heart-support treatment called inotrope, as well as sedatives and antibiotics.
“The discolouration to the patient’s toes and fingers arose due to a complication and side effect of inotrope, which was given to save the patient’s life,” said the defendants.
“This complication worsened as the patient was experiencing septic shock and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy.”
They added that administering inotrope did not require consent from Vimal Raj or his parents, as it was given to save his life, which is the main responsibility of healthcare workers.
While Vimal Raj was in the intensive care unit, various medical professionals performed tests on him to determine the cause of his condition, said the statement of defence.
These included blood tests and others to determine whether he had HIV and/or cancer.
“The defendants state that doctors from the medical department and surgery department had meetings with the family on January 31, 2019, and other meetings on other dates,” said the statement of defence.
On March 6 that year, Serdang Hospital doctors performed surgery on Vimal Raj’s neck to extract tissue samples near the heart for a biopsy.
“Taking tissues surrounding the heart does not necessarily mean that Vimal Raj was suffering from a heart attack,” said the defendants.
Although the teen and his parents claim that they were given only minutes to decide whether to undergo the procedure, the defendants said the family were given ample time, and were also provided with an explanation on the procedure.
On March 15, Vimal Raj underwent surgery to amputate his left arm and right leg.
The defendants said the boy’s father sought more time to consent to the surgery, and took more than two weeks to agree.
Based on the earlier biopsy, Vimal Raj was diagnosed with tuberculosis lymphadenitis, and given TB medication for 401 days, starting March 19.
However, the medication was suspended when Vimal Raj experienced hepatitis side effects.
“The TB medication given to Vimal Raj would not weaken his immune system,” said the statement of defence.
Vimal Raj and his father later said another amputation was done to the bottom of the teen’s left foot.
The defendants, however, said the procedure was not an amputation, but a “wound debridement” done to remove dead tissue.
From both the statement of claim and statement of defence, it is understood that the ministry offered to pay RM465,150 to Vimal Raj and his family.
The defendants said this is not an admission of guilt.
The payment has been refused by the family.
Vimal Raj’s parent said they believe that if the earlier amputations had been conducted expertly, the fourth would not have been necessary.
The statement of claim, dated December 11, sees Vimal Raj’s parents suing Ampang Hospital and the ministry. – The Vibes, February 12, 2021
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