Court dismisses malpractice suit

Court dismisses malpractice suit

Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Nothing perhaps could better describe Indra Safri Yakub's
feelings, but that of deep sorrow and disappointment as a court
threw out his medical malpractice lawsuit.

After losing his wife Adya Vitry Harsisusanti during a
preoperational procedure, his quest for justice was cut short
when the Central Jakarta District Court dismissed his lawsuit
against doctors from three hospitals for malpractice.

Presiding judge Cicut Sutiarso read the court decision on
Thursday to accept the defendants' arguments that the lawsuit was
"premature" and "inappropriately addressed".

The panel of judges considered the case was filed before an
official investigation had been conducted and an autopsy report
filed on the cause of Adya's death.

They also said the plaintiff should have filed the lawsuit
against the hospitals' board of directors.

The judges thus dismissed the suit and awarded costs of Rp
1.69 million (US$185) against the plaintiff, but gave both
parties two weeks to consider the ruling.

Indra's lawyer, Erna Ratnaningsih from the Jakarta Legal Aid
Institute (LBH Jakarta), said after the hearing that her client
would definitely file an appeal.

"The judges did not even consider the evidence we had
presented, which shows that Indra's wife did not die because of
her illness but because the doctors at the hospitals did not
treat her properly," she said.

In addition, many doctors who had been summoned by the court
to testify as expert witnesses did not show.

Indra is set to file a complaint with the Jakarta Police
within the week, after which it will be up to police whether to
pursue a criminal case.

He had sued 11 doctors from Cipto Mangunkusumo General
Hospital (RSCM) and Pelni Hospital in Jakarta and the Indonesian
Red Cross (PMI) Hospital in Bogor for negligence resulting in the
death of his wife.

Indra demanded that the hospitals run a public apology in the
media and pay Rp 47 million for material losses. He had also
claimed punitive damages of Rp 3 billion.

Indra's wife died at RSCM after a doctor inserted a central
venous pressure (CVP) needle into a vein in her neck, which was
necessary to administer an anesthetic for an operation the
following day.

The doctor, however, was not an anesthesiologist, Indra said,
only a general practitioner, and the hospital had not notified
him of this fact.

Further, Indra's wife had earlier undergone a series of
medical tests at the other two hospitals, but no diagnosis was
made.

Several malpractice cases have surfaced recently, and while
people can sue for malpractice, the process is unclear and the
plaintiff's loss is probable, as there are no specific
regulations on it.

The Medical Law was enacted on Sept. 7 without a key article
on medical malpractice that was included in the draft bill.
Instead, the law defines "malpractice" as a case in which an
individual commits fraud by posing as a doctor, nurse, health
worker or other medical professional.