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Court lowers govt’s payout for botched delivery of doctor’s child

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Dr Norfazlin Zamani will now receive RM422,392 in damages from the medical negligence suit against 19 doctors at Selayang Hospital.

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Court of Appeal
The Court of Appeal reduced the quantum payable by the government as aggravated damages from RM150,000 to RM80,000, holding there was no contumelious conduct to justify the higher award.

PUTRAJAYA:
The Court of Appeal has reduced the aggravated damages payable by the government to a medical doctor who suffered injuries following a botched Caesarean section delivery, holding there was no contumelious conduct to justify a higher award.

Delivering the decision of a three-member panel, Justice Azmi Ariffin noted that the High Court had attributed the offending conduct to a two-day delay in acting on Dr Norfazlin Zamani’s complaints made following the surgical procedure.

As a result, Norfazlin suffered serious bladder and abdominal injuries which required remedial surgeries.

“We are dealing with a public hospital catering to public needs and public interests and it cannot be said that there was exceptional and contumelious conduct in committing the wrong,” he said.

“We allow the appeal in part and set aside the award of RM150,000.00 in aggravated damages and instead award RM80,000,” Azmi said in a judgment posted on the judiciary’s website on Wednesday.

Also on the bench which heard the government’s appeal in April this year were Justices Azizah Nawawi and Zaini Mazlan.

Following the revision, Norfazlin will now receive RM422,392 in damages. The High Court had also awarded her legal costs in the sum of RM150,000.

Lawyer Karthi Kanthabalan, who represented Norfazlin, said neither party has applied for leave to appeal to the Federal Court.

Norfazlin filed the medical negligence suit on Aug 28, 2017, naming the government and 19 doctors who had attended to her at Selayang Hospital as defendants.

The government admitted liability after an expert witness called by Norfazlin had completed giving his testimony.

In her statement of claim, Norfazlin said she also suffered serious psychiatric injuries.

According to the facts of the case, Norfazlin, then 32, underwent an emergency Caesarean section at the hospital on Aug 28, 2016. She suffered serious bladder injuries which also led to psychiatric issues.

Norfazlin, who was in her second pregnancy at the time of the incident, said she delivered her first child by Caesarean section at a private hospital without complications.

However, she opted to deliver her second child at Selayang Hospital under the government’s full-paying patient scheme which allowed patients to choose an ante-natal care consultant who would eventually undertake the delivery of their babies.

Norfazlin chose a normal delivery for the second child to speed up her postpartum recovery so that she could return to work as soon as possible.

However, her baby had shown signs of foetal distress and a decision was made on the morning of Aug 28, 2017 to perform an emergency Caesarean section.

The designated doctor was not present and Norfazlin had no choice but to consent to a young medical officer with two years’ experience performing the operation.

She became pregnant unexpectedly for the third time in 2018 and developed severe antenatal anxiety disorder, blaming it on her previous bitter experience.

Following psychiatric treatment and counselling, doctors managed to stop the plaintiff from terminating the pregnancy or causing harm to her baby.

Unfortunately, the doctors were not able to dissuade her from undergoing a bilateral salpingectomy (the removal of both the fallopian tubes) to avoid getting pregnant again and a repetition of the trauma suffered.

Senior federal counsel Noerazlim Saidil and federal counsel Natrah Mazman represented the government while Aaika Zulaika Yusop also acted for Norfazlin.

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