APPEALS COURT INCREASES DAMAGES AWARDED TO CAMERAMAN TO RM1.28 MILLION FOR MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 1 (Bernama) --  The Court of Appeal has increased the damages awarded to a freelance videographer and cameraman to RM1,284,705.88 in a medical negligence case.

A three-member panel led by Justice Datuk Dr Choo Kah Sing partly allowed Wee You Kheong’s appeal on the quantum of damages, concluding that his appeal had merit.

The panel, which also included Justices Datuk Seri Mohd Firuz Jaffril and Datuk Nadzarin Wok Nordin, ordered Putra Specialist Hospital (Melaka) Sdn Bhd and Dr Zulkefli Abdul Rashid to each pay RM30,000 in legal costs.

In July last year, the High Court awarded Wee RM783,011.88 in damages along with RM190,000 in legal costs, ruling that both the hospital and the specialist were liable for medical negligence. 

Today, the Court of Appeal increased the damages by RM501,694.

In delivering the decision today, Justice Dr Choo increased the amount from RM6,000 to RM9,600 for the value of care provided by family members, the cost of a hydraulic prosthetic leg that Wee purchased after the amputation from RM21,095 to RM42,188, general damages for pain and suffering and loss of amenities of life from RM125,000 to RM300,000.

Additionally, aggravated damages of RM300,000 and RM2,000 for home modifications—previously not awarded by the High Court—were granted.

Wee, 60, was involved in a road accident along the North/South Highway in August 2015, while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru for a job assignment.

The van in which he was travelling with a production crew crashed into the rear of a motor-lorry, causing severe injury to his left leg.

Wee filed a civil suit against four defendants, namely the van driver, the van owner, the hospital and the specialist.

The High Court found both the van driver and owner negligent and ordered them to pay RM101,574 to Wee.

The hospital and specialist were held responsible for medical negligence due to misdiagnosis and negligent delay in diagnosing a vascular injury. 

Wee appealed to the Court of Appeal on the quantum against the hospital and the specialist. The hospital and the specialist, as well as the van driver and owner, did not appeal the decision of the High Court.

In today’s proceeding, Wee was represented by lawyers K.Karthi, Alicia Chin and Lee Xin Yu, while lawyers Nik Mohd Hasrul Nik Hamdan and Navamalar A. Ganesan represented the hospital and the specialist, respectively.

-- BERNAMA