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Woman takes anaesthetist to court
By Teo Xuanwei, TODAY | Posted: 29 July 2011 0724 hrs
SINGAPORE: A mother of six has taken an anaesthetist who attended to her during the Caesarian birth of her last child in 2006 to court for allegedly causing her neck injuries.
Mdm Joanne Tong Seok May, 40, claims that Dr Gordon Yau Hok Man had "overstrained and/or injured her neck" while he was inserting a breathing tube down her airway in the process of administering general anaesthesia.
As a result, she has been suffering from severe pain in the neck and back, pins and needles in her hands and feet, and chronic headaches, claims the former lawyer.
Dr Yau is denying all allegations and said in court documents that he had not flexed, extended and/or tilted Mdm Tong's head while performing the procedure.
Mdm Tong, who is now an English tutor, said she now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder with a major depressive disorder and has to take more than 20 pills a day because of the ailments.
Mdm Tong, represented by Ms Melanie Ho, is seeking unspecified damages. Besides alleging Dr Yau carried out the intubation improperly, Mdm Tong claims he had fallen "appallingly short of acceptable standards in his practice of medicine" because he had allegedly failed to adequately assess her physical condition before carrying out the procedure.
Dr Yau, who is in private practice at Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, is also alleged not to have sought and obtained Mdm Tong's consent for general anaesthesia, and nor did he explain the nature and risks of the procedure.
But Dr Yau contended that it was the "usual and standard practice" for Mdm Tong's gynaecologist, with whom he had been working with for some years, to advise patients accordingly. He argued further the tube was successfully inserted in one attempt without any difficulty.
His lawyer, Mr Lek Siang Pheng, noted Mdm Tong had also signed a consent form indicating that the nature, risks and alternatives of anaesthesia had been explained to her.
Mdm Tong's account was that she was unaware the consent form was for procedures other than the Caesarian section and that she had not read it before signing.
Among the nine witnesses that Dr Yau will call include a private investigator, who conducted surveillance on Mdm Tong and found that she was able to engage in normal activities.
When the hearing began on Thursday, Mr Lek grilled Mdm Tong as to whether her gynaecologist had already discussed with her about the anaesthesia procedures, thus making it unnecessary for his client to repeat the same.
Mdm Tong denied this, saying they only spoke generally about anaesthesia being necessary for Caesarian births, but did not delve into the type of anaesthesia.
She added that she felt Dr Yau was the best person to explain and advise her about the risks because it was his area of expertise but he had not done so.
The hearing, scheduled for 19 days, continues on Monday. - TODAY
