Govt Ordered To Pay RM9.45Mil For Boy's Brain Injury After Hospital's Medical Negligence
The sum includes nearly RM8 million for the boy's future care, RM735,000 for special damages, and RM400,000 as general damages for pain, suffering, and loss of amenities.
By Aleya Natasha Mohd Ali — 15 Nov 2024, 11:48 AM
The Federal Court has ordered the government to pay RM9.45 million in compensation for a boy who suffered brain damage due to medical negligence during birth
According to FMT, the government did not request permission to appeal the Court of Appeal's ruling before the thirty-day deadline on 25 October.
It was reported that the government's request to reduce the RM7.6 million granted by the Penang High Court was denied by the Court of Appeal panel, which was presided over by Justice Lee Swee Seng on 25 September.
Instead, the panel allowed the boy's cross-appeal, raising the award to RM9.45 million.
The sum includes nearly RM8 million for the boy's future care, RM735,000 for special damages, and RM400,000 as general damages for pain, suffering, and loss of amenities.
Lawyers Manmohan Singh Dhillon and Karthi Kanthabalan represented the boy, who filed the suit through his mother, Syazwani Drani.
It was confirmed that the amount is the largest awarded by a Malaysian court in a medical negligence case involving a government hospital.
The incident occurred in 2014, when Syazwani who was 37 weeks pregnant, got admitted to Penang General Hospital due to irregular contractions
The doctors delayed Syazwani's birth delivery despite signs of fetal distress three days after her contractions began.
As a result, the baby suffered hypoxic brain damage due to a prolonged lack of oxygen.
The boy, Thaqif Asyraf Khairol Nizam, now 10, was placed on a ventilator and discharged on 14 November 2014.
According to court documents, the parents were only informed of their son's irreversible brain injury six months after birth.
Justice Azizan Arshad, presiding at the High Court, emphasised that the delay in care led to the child's permanent injury, prompting the substantial damages awarded.
