Man awarded RM408,000 in damages over ‘catastrophic’ bile duct injury

The High Court also says the plaintiff was entitled to seek corrective surgery in Singapore ‘although cheaper alternatives were theoretically available.’

Justice Anand Ponnudurai awarded the plaintiff, Pau Jion Ung, RM257,956.55 in special damages and another RM150,000 in general damages.

He ordered the defendant, a consultant general and a colorectal surgeon at a private hospital here, to pay interest on the judgment sum at 5% per annum calculated from Jan 25, 2019 until the judgment sum is settled, and costs of RM40,000.

The judge said the higher costs award was justified as Ung had readied his case for full trial before the defendant’s last-minute admission of liability.

The trial was conducted solely to assess the damages payable.

According to the facts of the case, Ung, a resident of Sibu, was first diagnosed in November 2018 as having a distal common bile duct stone, causing an obstruction in the flow of bile, and sepsis, which necessitated urgent medical attention.

He initially received treatment at Rejang Medical Centre in Sibu before travelling to Kuala Lumpur to seek specialist care.

Pau, 69, sued the surgeon following a botched laparoscopic cholecystectomy, during which he suffered a complete transection, a serious bile duct injury that went undetected and unrepaired at the time.

Further complications and multiple surgeries followed, before Ung was referred to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) where a complex reconstructive procedure was successfully performed.

Anand said Pau was justified in seeking medical treatment in Singapore due to the severity and complexity of the injury, and the failure of prior surgeries in Malaysia.

He said a plaintiff who acts on professional medical recommendations is entitled to rely on such advice in choosing the place of treatment.

“I find that the plaintiff has discharged the burden of justifying his decision to seek treatment in Singapore,” he said, adding that Pau’s referral to SGH was not a matter of preference but one of necessity, having suffered the “catastrophic” injury at the surgeon’s hands.

Anand also noted that Professor Dr London Lucien Ooi, a senior hepatobiliary surgeon at SGH, had himself confirmed that the case was referred to him by a managing doctor in Kuala Lumpur.

This fact, the judge said, was corroborated by both Pau and his daughter.

The judge said the award of general damages took into account Pau’s “prolonged period of suffering” spanning six months, including 49 days of hospitalisation in Singapore, and involving the enforced use of “multiple drainage tubes.”

It also was also intended as compensation for long-term medical risks and a reduced quality of life.

Lawyer Ramesh Supramaniam appeared for Pau, while Ho Sze Ve and Esrine María Anne Saganathan represented the defendant.