THE Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday awarded RM335,000 in damages to a former national hockey player, who had filed a negligence suit against the doctor after his wife died of a brain stem stroke.
Judicial commissioner Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan made the ruling after allowing Avtar Singh’s claim against a private hospital’s doctor who attended, examined, diagnosed and treated his wife, Salinder Kaur.
He ordered the the defendant to pay the RM234,624.09 in plaintiff special damages, RM100,000 in general damages, and costs of RM40,000.
“I find that the amount of RM100,000 was justified given that the deceased was bedridden for almost 10 months before she died as a result of a brain stem stroke,” he said in the 33-page judgment.
Raja Mohzanuddin said the doctor had admitted to negligence.
“It is evident from the amended statement of claim that the doctor had admitted to every aspect of the negligence claims that were made against him.
“When something occurs after the hospital has taken the necessary reasonable care, as I have found in this case, the liability should rest solely with the doctor,” he added.
However, Raja Mohzanuddin dismissed the plaintiff’s claim against a private hospital in Kelana Jaya with costs of 30,000 after ruling that the facility did not owe the plaintiff or the deceased a non-delegable duty of care.
Avtar, played in the 1976 and 1980 Olympics games and took part in two World Cups, in 1978 and 1981, as a member of the national team.
He devoted himself to taking care of his wife, Salinder, after she fell sick.
The statement of claim, filed in 2019, stated that Salinder was admitted to hospital on August 21, 2016, after experiencing pain and numbness in her left arm.
It was alleged that the doctor had practised outside the scope of his qualifications and failed to diagnose the deceased because the hospital did not possess the right medical equipment, which led to Salinder being transferred to another hospital.
She had suffered a brain stem stroke and died about 10 months later. – Bernama, November 15, 2023
