00:00 The Kuala Lumpur High Court awarded RM5.1 million in damages to the estate of the former
00:06 CEO of Highway Operator Prolintas, who suffered brain damage after surgery at a private hospital.
00:13 Justice Arif Emran Arifin said the plaintiff had proven on a balance of probabilities that
00:18 Pusat Pakar Tawakkal Sundaran Berhad, an ear, nose and throat surgeon, and an anaesthetist
00:24 were liable for medical negligence.
00:26 According to the facts of the case, Zainuddin Abdul Qadir was admitted to the hospital on
00:31 February 22, 2016, and underwent nasal surgery four days later.
00:36 The surgery began at 5.45pm and ended at 8.05pm, with records indicating no untoward incident
00:43 during the procedure, but Zainuddin collapsed at 9.30pm.
00:47 The hospital's protocol said doctors must observe patients in the recovery bay for at
00:51 least an hour after the reversal of the anaesthesia before they are discharged to the ward, but
00:55 in Zainuddin's case, the process only lasted 25 minutes.
00:59 As the patient was still drowsy, the ENT surgeon intubated him in the esophagus instead of
01:04 the trachea, which led to the brain damage.
01:07 The suit was filed in 2018, but Zainuddin died in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic,
01:12 resulting in his wife Nur Rizam Abdul Wahab, the administrator of his estate, being substituted
01:17 as the plaintiff.
01:18 [MUSIC PLAYING]
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