Mum of six sues doc for negligence

[MarrickG]

A MOTHER of six is suing the anaesthetist who was in attendance at the Caesarian birth of her last child in 2006.

Ms Joanne Tong, 39, charges that as Dr Gordon Yau was negligent while inserting a breathing tube down her airway ahead of the Caesarian, he “erred in his duty of care” and “overstrained and/or injured her neck during the procedure”.

Ms Tong, a former lawyer and the former chairman of the People’s Action Party’s Women’s Wing, claims she continues to suffer severe pain in the neck and back, numbness in her hands and feet, and often loses her balance.

She also said she is now unable to drive her children around or help them in their schoolwork because she cannot sit up for long.

She is seeking damages.

The trial is slated to begin in the High Court on July 27, with Ms Tong represented by lawyers Melanie Ho, Chang Man Phing and Yuwen Teo-McDonnell from WongPartnership.

Dr Yau, who is in private practice at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, is denying the claims, and has engaged lawyers Lek Siang Pheng, Terence Tan and Sharon Liu from Rodyk & Davidson to defend him.
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The court documents add that the consent form clearly required Dr Yau to confirm he had explained the nature, purpose, risks and alternatives to the proposed anaesthesia to her, but that he had signed it without doing so.

He allegedly did not provide a proper review after the operation, even when she complained about neck and back pain.

Among other things, Dr Yau will respond that he did not manipulate her neck while putting her under general anaesthesia.

He said the risk of possible neck injuries during intubation is “not a known and/or material risk in a healthy patient” and that such a patient need not be informed during consent-taking. He is counter-alleging that her injury came solely from or was contributed to by her negligence.

Ms Tong’s lawyers will contend that the recovery-room nurses were told about the neck and back pain, and that she had been given pethidine, a pain-reliever usually given to women to ease labour pains.

They will also point out that Ms Tong’s husband – general practitioner Frederick Goh – and her gynaecologist Tham Kok Fun had separately told Dr Yau about the possible injury in October and November 2006, but he neither contacted her nor took steps to review her case.