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SINGAPORE - The family of an elderly woman, who is in a vegetative state following surgery in June 2014 to remove a brain tumour, has lost a negligence suit against the National University Hospital (NUH) and its head neurosurgeon.
The family of Madam Goh Guan Sin was also ordered to pay her hospital bills, which amounted to $397,478.78 as of July 26 this year and continues to be incurred.
Madam Goh, 70, has been hospitalised at NUH since her operation and her family has repeatedly rejected the hospital's suggestion to move her to a step-down care facility.
The lawsuit, filed in 2017 on her behalf by one of her daughters, initially alleged that Dr Yeo Tseng Tsai and NUH were negligent before, during and after her operation.
When the trial started in April this year, the claims of negligence during the operation were dropped. At the end of the 32-day trial in October, the claims of negligence before the operation were also abandoned.
In a 205-page judgment on Wednesday (Nov 27), High Court judge Tan Siong Thye said the family did not pursue allegations of pre-operation negligence because they realised the "futility" of this claim after the issues were thoroughly ventilated in court.
He concluded that Dr Yeo and NUH were not negligent before or after the operation, and allowed NUH's counterclaim for the unpaid bills.
In his judgment, Justice Tan said: "After a successful surgery, the world of the plaintiff and her family was turned upside down... This is tragic and it is understandable that the plaintiff's family finds it tremendously difficult to accept the dreadful outcome."
He said he deeply empathised with the frustration and disappointment of the family towards the surgical team.
"But justice must be meted out according to the rule of law and not the feelings of the heart in order to reach a fair outcome based on the merits and facts of this case," he said.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...state-loses-suit-against-nuh-and-neurosurgeon
