Courting consent — from patient to plaintiff
Haresh Says as published in The Malay Mail today. Does the act of signing a consent form prior to surgery automatically absolves the liability of a doctor or medical institution? More importantly, is the consent of a spouse also required in such circumstances? Two recent cases in the High Court — Gurmit Kaur Jaswant Singh v Tung Shin Hospital & Anor, and Abdul Razak Datuk Abu Samah v Raja Badrul Hisham Raja Zezeman Shah & Ors — come to mind. While the facts in both cases differ, the learned judges looked into the duty of care owed to the patients, and if there was a need to explain the nature of the risks to the next of kin. It also looked at the dependence of the patients — despite being of right sounding mind — on their spouses. In the case of Gurmit Kaur, the plaintiff was admitted for the removal of a fibroid. She signed a consent form, but claimed her husband was not called in for the signing. In the follow-up appointment, the plaintiff was shocked to le...