Ex-patient's lawyers file evidence on malpractice

JAKARTA (JP): Lawyers representing a woman who is suing a doctor at Husada Hospital over an alleged case of negligence submitted a list of evidence yesterday in connection with their client's case to Central Jakarta District Court.

Lawyers Gunawan Tjahjadi and Pius Soi presented a list containing 13 items to the court which will be used to support their client's arguments in her lawsuit.

Their client, Marliana Tanadi, filed a lawsuit requesting more than Rp 1 billion (US$435,000) against Dr. Henk Kartadinata and Husada Hospital, accusing the doctor of carelessly leaving a three-centimeter drill bit lodged in her left arm while she underwent an operation on her broken arm at Husada Hospital in May.

She claimed that the doctor's alleged carelessness had rendered her left hand useless.

The pieces of evidence handed over by Marliana's lawyers to the court yesterday included four reproductions of four X-ray pictures of the plaintiff's broken left arm, one taken before the operation and three after.

Marliana, who lives in Pademangan, North Jakarta, broke her left arm on May 5, 1996 when she fell down after stepping on a wet mop cloth. She was rushed to Husada Hospital on Jl. Mangga Besar Raya in Central Jakarta. She was X-rayed and operated on the following day by Henk, who inserted a pin in the bone of her broken arm to aid its healing.

She was allowed to go home three days later. She was only required to receive treatment as an out-patient. A few days later, however, her left arm became swollen and painful. She returned to the hospital. Henk was reportedly surprised and suggested another operation to adjust the position of the pin.

However, during treatment, her arm became even worse when it began bleeding in the area of the surgery stitches.

Because of the worsening condition, Marliana was then taken to another hospital, Setia Mitra, where Dr. Soelarto Reksoprodjo found the drill bit lodged in the bone of her left arm.

In her lawsuit, Marliana, 45, also accused Henk of having neglected his responsibility to tell her or her family about the drill bit.

However, the defendants denied the accusation. They were represented by Purbadi Hardjoprajitno.

In his reply to the plaintiff's complaint, Purbadi argued that the hospital had gone through all the standard procedures required in treating patients, which included informing patients by showing them X-ray pictures taken earlier.

In her lawsuit, Marliana urged the court to order Henk and the hospital to pay for the material and immaterial losses she has suffered. She also urged the court to ban Henk from medical practice while the trial was in progress.

She also requested the court to order the Jakarta chapter of the Indonesian Medical Association, one of the parties being sued, to dismiss Henk from the association.

However, in its reply to the plaintiff's lawsuit, the association, represented by Poppy Gunawarman, called the lawsuit incomplete because it did not include the Ministry of Health as one of the parties to be sued.

Poppy argued that the plaintiff should have included the ministry, because it was the ministry who issued doctors licenses and thus had the power to suspend doctors from medical practice.

Presiding Judge Gatam Taridi adjourned the trial until Sept. 30. (26)