PETALING JAYA: A woman was awarded over RM 1.1 million in damages after sustaining permanent nerve damage following a botched surgical procedure.
The plaintiff Nurul Iman Abu Mansor underwent her first surgical procedure in 2018 at Gleneagles Hospital Kuala Lumpur after she was advised by the hospital’s Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgeon resident consultant, Datuk Seri Dr Zulkharnain Ismail to undergo surgery to address her carpal tunnel syndrome.
The 22-year-old was diagnosed with the syndrome as she had been suffering persistent numbness and pain in her right hand before December 2017, the New Straits Times reported.
After the first surgery, she experienced more pain in her right hand than before and it persisted during her follow-up visits post-surgery.
Zulkarnain advised her to undergo surgery a second time, which was performed in June 2018 – which caused Nurul to go through more pain than after the first surgery and subsequently lost sensation in three fingers on her right hand.
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After that, she sought medical attention at Subang Jaya Medical Centre where she was diagnosed with “median nerve issues” which affected her three fingers and was recommended for “corrective surgery”, as quoted.
On April 8, 2019, Nurul underwent corrective surgery at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Specialist Centre (UKMSC), performed by hand and microsurgeon Dr Jamari Sapuan, who later told her that around 5 centimetres of the median nerve had been removed during the surgery.
Despite the corrective surgeries, Nurul’s issue with her right hand continues to persist, posing a challenge when performing her daily tasks.
She subsequently filed a lawsuit for medical negligence.
During the trial, she claimed that Zulkarnain resected her median nerve and sought compensation from the defendants for “negligence and breach of contractual, statutory, and other duties” also including duties of “candour and good faith”, as quoted, causing or contributing to her losses and damages.
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Nurul also claimed Zulkarnain “delayed”, as quoted, in providing surgical and medical treatment necessary for her complications sustained and sequelae of the median nerve injury but he denied her claim stating that he acted in her best interests and reportedly provided enough information and advice pertaining to her condition.
Kuala Lumpur High Court judicial commissioner Suzana Muhamad Said stated that Zulkarnain “breached” his duty where he failed to advise Nurul and her father of her condition and its risks.
The High Court judge made her ruling citing medical evidence, including “expert evidence”, as quoted, showing that the median nerve was resected during the operation performed by Zulkarnain.
“Apart from negligence and breach of contract, there is the tort of breach of statutory duty, a duty owed directly by the defendants,“ she said.
Suzana added that the plaintiff suffered “psychiatric injury”, as quoted, as a result from the trauma and disabilities sustained after the surgical procedure.
