Article source from: codeblue.galencentre.org
Obstetrics & gynaecology cases make up most medicolegal complaints in government hospitals, with multimillion-ringgit lawsuits in recent years, says a doctor at Selayang Hospital’s medicolegal unit. Surgical and emergency medicolegal cases are also rising.
KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — Obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G) cases account for the majority of medicolegal complaints in government hospitals, with multi-million-ringgit lawsuits awarded in recent years, a Selayang Hospital doctor said.
Dr Chan Lee Lee, a medical officer in Selayang Hospital’s Medicolegal Unit, said O&G cases are frequently the subject of legal disputes, a trend she has observed primarily in Selangor’s government hospitals.
“Last year, the highest damages awarded by the court was RM9.45 million, and there were two other cases where the court awarded over RM8 million,” Dr Chan said at the Future Healthcare Asia 2025 conference last February 18.
She was responding to CodeBlue’s question about the most common medicolegal complaints received through hospital channels and whether there has been an increase in medicolegal cases in recent years.
While O&G remains the most common department involved in medicolegal complaints, Dr Chan noted that cases from surgical and emergency departments have also risen in recent years.
Free Malaysia Today reported last November that the government must pay RM9.45 million in damages and costs to Thaqif Asyraf Khairol Nizam, a boy who suffered brain damage at birth at Penang Hospital, after it allowed the deadline to pass without appealing to the Federal Court.
The Court of Appeal had upheld a High Court ruling in Penang awarding RM7.6 million but increased the sum after granting a cross-appeal by the boy’s family. With no further appeal filed by the October 25 deadline, the ruling became final.
The case, believed to have resulted in the highest medical negligence payout involving a government hospital, awarded RM8 million for Thaqif’s future care, RM735,000 in special damages, and RM400,000 in general damages for pain and suffering. His mother, Syazwani Drani, filed the lawsuit in 2020.
All court judgments are publicly accessible via the judiciary’s online platform, e-Kehakiman.
When asked about the independence of internal hospital inquiries into patient complaints, Dr. Chan said the Ministry of Health (MOH) has clear guidelines for handling complaints, and inquiry committees are intended to be neutral.
“When I first joined the unit, some doctors and panel members didn’t fully understand the purpose of these inquiries. Some thought their role was to protect the hospital—I’ll be honest about this.
“But we have MOH guidelines on handling complaints and conducting inquiries. We remind our panels that the committee is neutral and independent, and our goal is to investigate the patient’s complaint,” Dr Chan said. “It’s not about fault-finding.”
Malaysia has a formal complaint management system for the public service, SISPAA (Sistem Pengurusan Aduan Awam), which allows patients and families to lodge complaints online against public health care providers.
Dr Chan, who has studied the system in comparison to the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS), said she was quite proud of Malaysia’s structure. Complaints flagged as potential medicolegal cases are escalated to hospital medicolegal units, which then form independent inquiry committees.
“Each hospital has a public relations officer to handle general complaints. If a complaint is identified as a potential medicolegal case, it is forwarded to an officer like me.
“In Selangor, all major hospitals have a medicolegal unit. When a case is referred to us, we will establish an inquiry committee consisting of specialists or consultants who were not directly involved in the patient’s management,” Dr Chan explained.
The committee then reviews medical records and interviews staff before meeting with the patient and their family to discuss findings.
“I think this platform is a very good way for us to listen to patients. We often talk about doctors and nurses leaving, the high patient load, and how this is not a very healthy environment to have in the health care system. So this is a very good platform that allows us to listen to what patients say and ensure that the process is conducted appropriately.
“It also helps us identify some problems in management—even though they may not necessarily cause harm. We can identify the problems and communicate them to the departments involved to improve the system,” Dr Chan said.
