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.