PUTRAJAYA, March 12 — The Court of Appeal today dismissed an ophthalmologist’s appeal to overturn a High Court ruling holding him liable for medical negligence and ordering him to pay RM1.28 million in damages to a mechanic who lost sight in his left eye.
A three-member bench led by Datuk Dr Choo Kah Sing, sitting with Datuk Dr Shahnaz Sulaiman and Datuk Sri Latifah Mohd Tahar, dismissed the appeal brought by ophthalmologist Dr Lee Mun Toong after finding that his appeal was without merit.
Delivering the unanimous decision, Justice Dr Choo said the High Court had not committed any error of law or fact in accepting the narrative presented by T Loganathan, adding that the trial court was the best arbiter of the facts.
“The sum awarded is not excessively high nor manifestly low. Hence, there is no error that warrants this court to interfere with the award,” he said.
The court ordered Dr Lee to pay RM30,000 in legal costs.
Loganathan had filed a suit against the ophthalmologist for medical negligence, alleging failure to diagnose and promptly remove an intraocular foreign body from his left eye, which resulted in infection, glaucoma and permanent loss of vision.
The 39-year-old claimed that on July 6, 2011, he sustained an injury to his left eye when a hard object struck it while he was using a hammer to open a part of an engine compressor.
He said he was examined by the appellant, who performed a minor surgery on the eyelid to suture the wound. The following day, the appellant carried out another surgery under general anaesthesia, following which Loganathan’s eye was bandaged.
The ophthalmologist informed Loganathan that there was no intraocular foreign body in the injured eye and assured him that the eye would heal completely.
However, Loganathan continued to suffer severe pain and blurred vision days after the surgery. Following the complaint, the appellant arranged a CT scan, which revealed a foreign body lodged in the injured eye.
Loganathan later sought further treatment at Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh, where a specialist discovered that the eye had become infected.
He was then admitted to Selayang Hospital on July 12, 2011, where surgery was performed to remove the object. Despite the procedure, he developed glaucoma and permanently lost vision in his left eye.
In his defence, the ophthalmologist claimed that he ordered a CT scan to be performed on Loganathan on July 8, 2011, to rule out any foreign body in his left eye, which Loganathan refused, as he was experiencing headaches.
The doctor also claimed that Loganathan was told to seek further examination and treatment in Kuala Lumpur.
In July 2023, the High Court ruled that Loganathan had established medical negligence against the ophthalmologist.
The court awarded RM200,000 in general damages; RM250,000 for medication and treatment for glaucoma; RM50,000 for psychiatric illness; RM6,893.79 in special damages; RM1,000 for travelling expenses; RM1,000 for home nursing care; RM22,056.80 for loss of actual income; RM253,920 for partial loss of future income; and RM500,000 in aggravated damages.
Dr Lee subsequently filed an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
High Court Judge Datuk Bhupindar Singh Gurcharan Singh Preet ruled that the doctor failed to order a CT scan that could have detected the foreign object earlier, thereby preventing timely treatment.
He also found that Dr Lee had fraudulently made post-dated entries in the medical records to suggest that a CT scan had been ordered but refused by Loganathan.
The judge ruled that the failure to conduct the scan resulted in the foreign object remaining in the eye, causing infection and ultimately leading to glaucoma and loss of vision.
At the Court of Appeal, Loganathan’s lawyer, Balakrishna Balaravi Pillai, argued that the appellant only ordered the CT scan on the sixth day after the injury, by which time the eye was severely infected, making the subsequent surgery to remove the object more complicated.
Lawyers Fazleeza Azli and Goh Lee Ding represented Dr Lee in the proceedings today. — Bernama
