Absence of expert witnesses in medical cases: Lawyer
Absence of expert witnesses in medical cases: Lawyer
Dewi Santoso, Jakarta
In the absence of expert witnesses, the disciplinary council to
be set up to handle cases of misconduct in the practice of
medicine will never provide justice to victims, a lawyer says.
Gunawan Tjahjadi, one of three lawyers representing alleged
malpractice victim Irwanto, said on Saturday the major obstacle
standing between malpractice victims and justice was the
difficulties in finding expert witnesses, usually doctors, who
were willing to testify in court.
"No doctors are willing to testify against their peers as they
feel the need to protect their own profession," said Gunawan.
His client, Irwanto, voiced the same opinion, saying he had
been trying to find an expert witness to testify in his case but
to no avail.
The two were commenting on an agreement between the House of
Representatives and the government on the establishment of a
disciplinary council that will handle cases of medical
malpractice. Both the lawmakers and government officials are
currently deliberating the medical practice bill.
Gunawan said a case was categorized as malpractice when a
doctor performed unnecessary medical practices which violated
medical standard procedures.
Irwanto, who is a lecturer at Atma Jaya University, was left
paralyzed chest down after a doctor allegedly misdiagnosed his
chest pain as a cardiac problem and prescribed a heart medicine,
which resulted in a ruptured vein.
His case is currently being heard by the district court.
Irwanto described how difficult it was to find a cardiologist
who was willing to testify in court.
"I work in an institution that owns a hospital with a huge
number of doctors. Yet, I cannot find one cardiologist who is
willing to testify. The answer is always the same: They say
they're not competent and therefore cannot testify," said
Irwanto.
Gunawan said the absence of expert witnesses was denying
malpractice victims justice.
"I've handled a case in which a man was left with a surgical
drill inside him and he didn't even know until an X-ray found the
tool inside his body. We lost the case in both the district and
high courts because the judges said the surgeon had followed all
the procedures and we couldn't find expert witnesses to determine
whether these procedures were correct," he told The Jakarta Post.
The lack of a strong legal system poses another hurdle for
malpractice victims, Gunawan said.
"What makes it worse, is that people do not have access to
clear explanations on what the standard medical procedures are,"
said Gunawan.
In Singapore, he said, the legal system enables malpractice
victims to win their cases, as happened in the 1990s when a woman
sued her physician for administering an unnecessary injection.
A public interest lawyer from the Indonesian Consumers
Foundation, Sudaryatmo, agreed with Gunawan, saying the legal
system here needed improvement, otherwise cases of medical
malpractice would continue to take place.
Dewi Santoso, Jakarta
In the absence of expert witnesses, the disciplinary council to
be set up to handle cases of misconduct in the practice of
medicine will never provide justice to victims, a lawyer says.
Gunawan Tjahjadi, one of three lawyers representing alleged
malpractice victim Irwanto, said on Saturday the major obstacle
standing between malpractice victims and justice was the
difficulties in finding expert witnesses, usually doctors, who
were willing to testify in court.
"No doctors are willing to testify against their peers as they
feel the need to protect their own profession," said Gunawan.
His client, Irwanto, voiced the same opinion, saying he had
been trying to find an expert witness to testify in his case but
to no avail.
The two were commenting on an agreement between the House of
Representatives and the government on the establishment of a
disciplinary council that will handle cases of medical
malpractice. Both the lawmakers and government officials are
currently deliberating the medical practice bill.
Gunawan said a case was categorized as malpractice when a
doctor performed unnecessary medical practices which violated
medical standard procedures.
Irwanto, who is a lecturer at Atma Jaya University, was left
paralyzed chest down after a doctor allegedly misdiagnosed his
chest pain as a cardiac problem and prescribed a heart medicine,
which resulted in a ruptured vein.
His case is currently being heard by the district court.
Irwanto described how difficult it was to find a cardiologist
who was willing to testify in court.
"I work in an institution that owns a hospital with a huge
number of doctors. Yet, I cannot find one cardiologist who is
willing to testify. The answer is always the same: They say
they're not competent and therefore cannot testify," said
Irwanto.
Gunawan said the absence of expert witnesses was denying
malpractice victims justice.
"I've handled a case in which a man was left with a surgical
drill inside him and he didn't even know until an X-ray found the
tool inside his body. We lost the case in both the district and
high courts because the judges said the surgeon had followed all
the procedures and we couldn't find expert witnesses to determine
whether these procedures were correct," he told The Jakarta Post.
The lack of a strong legal system poses another hurdle for
malpractice victims, Gunawan said.
"What makes it worse, is that people do not have access to
clear explanations on what the standard medical procedures are,"
said Gunawan.
In Singapore, he said, the legal system enables malpractice
victims to win their cases, as happened in the 1990s when a woman
sued her physician for administering an unnecessary injection.
A public interest lawyer from the Indonesian Consumers
Foundation, Sudaryatmo, agreed with Gunawan, saying the legal
system here needed improvement, otherwise cases of medical
malpractice would continue to take place.