KUALA LUMPUR: A 22-year-old woman was awarded RM1.1 million in damages after she was unable to use her right hand due to medical negligence during a surgery that resulted in permanent nerve damage.
High Court Judicial Commissioner Suzana Muhamad Said made the ruling after finding that Gleneagles Hospital Kuala Lumpur and it's Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon resident consultant, Datuk Seri Dr Zulkharnain Ismail, were liable in the case against Nurul Iman Abu Mansor.
Nurul Iman had been suffering from pain and persistent numbness in her right hand since before December 2017 and was diagnosed with right carpal tunnel syndrome.
The plaintiff (Nurul Iman) was advised by Dr Zulkharnain to undergo surgery to address her carpal tunnel syndrome to improve the function of her right hand.
She underwent the first surgery in January 2018 but experienced more pain in her right hand than before the procedure. The plaintiff continued to experience the pain during various follow-up visits after the first surgery.
Dr Zulkharnain advised her to undergo a second surgery, which was carried out around June 2018. Following the second surgery, the plaintiff experienced even more pain than after the first surgery and lost feeling in three of her fingers.
The plaintiff subsequently sought treatment at Subang Jaya Medical Centre, where the doctor diagnosed her with median nerve issues affecting three of her fingers and recommended corrective surgery.
The plaintiff underwent corrective surgery on April 8, 2019, performed by Dr Jamari Sapuan, a hand and microsurgeon at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Specialist Centre (UKMSC), who later informed her that approximately five centimetres of her median nerve had been resected during the procedure.
Notwithstanding the corrective surgeries, the plaintiff continues to suffer from median nerve palsy and is unable to properly use her right hand to perform daily activities.
She claimed that her median nerve had been resected during the surgery performed by Dr Zulkharnain and sought relief from the defendants for negligence and breach of contractual, statutory, and other duties, including duties of candour and good faith, which caused or materially contributed to the loss and damage suffered by the plaintiff.
She also claimed that Dr Zulkharnain had delayed in providing necessary surgical and medical treatment to treat the complications and sequelae of the median nerve injury.
However, Dr Zulkharnain denied the plaintiff's claim, stating that he acted in the best interest of his patients, including the plaintiff, and provided sufficient information and advice regarding her condition.
Suzana in her judgment said Dr Zulkharnain had breached his duty of care to provide advice and information when he failed to advise the plaintiff and her father of the risk of suffering a median nerve injury.
"On a balance of probabilities, this court finds that the median nerve had been negligently cut during the operation undertaken on Jan 23, 2018, and that there was a delay in identifying the cut injury and providing corrective treatment.
"It is indisputable that the median nerve cut injury was caused or materially contributed by the negligence of the defendants.
"This can be seen from the medical evidence, including the expert evidence which showed that the median nerve had been cut during the operation undertaken by Dr Zulkharnain.
"Apart from negligence and breach of contract, there is the tort of breach of statutory duty, a duty owed directly by the defendants," said Suzana.
Suzana said the plaintiff since 2017 had to undergo a total of eight operations on her right hand, including two at Gleneagles and six further operations at UKMSC.
"The trauma and disabilities have also caused the plaintiff to suffer psychiatric injury."