Foul!

Haresh Says, as published in Malay Mail today. THE wails of his wife echoed throughout the street as she pleaded for mercy. His daughter shivered with fear. The husband was handed a good beating for simply standing up to another motorist who had shouted at her following a disagreement over a parking bay. The fight finally breaks up and they go separate ways. Nevermind that their dinner plan was disrupted, the wife was glad it was over. Sadly, it was the beginning of a night she wished had never existed. The husband developed pains and was rushed to hospital. He turned from victim to deceased. That was Mary Ooi’s nightmare. Her husband Stephen Joseph was assaulted over a carpark row on Sunday night, in front of Ooi and their 14-year-old daughter Joanne in SS2, Petaling Jaya. He succumbed to severe blows to his chest and internal bleeding, as reported by Malay Mail yesterday. Two weeks ago, a 21-year-old man allegedly reversed into a busine...

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...