IPOH: The High Court here today ordered a medical centre to pay RM896,000 to an accident victim for its negligence in providing him with HIV-contaminated blood in 2005.
Judge Datuk Samsudin Hassan, in meting out the sentence, said Kinta Medical Centre (KMC) was found to be negligent based on three elements namely its failure to take precautionary measures, breaching the trust and causing losses and suffering to the plaintiff.
He ordered KMC to pay RM750,000 for general damages and RM96,000 for special damages to the 27-year-old victim who had been infected by the disease.
KMC was also ordered to pay RM50,000 for court costs.
Counsels V. Vijaya Segaran and Intan Surayya Abdul Halim represented the plaintiff while KMC was represented by lawyers Pardeep Singh, Ashvinder Kaur and Datuk Naran Singh.
According to the facts, the victim was transferred from Hospital Seri Manjung in Sitiawan to Hospital Fatimah here after he was involved in an accident on May 22, 2005.
He received a blood transfusion which was supplied by Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun, KMC and Hospital Fatimah during treatment on May 22 and May 25.
A blood test made on Nov 30 revealed that the plaintiff was HIV positive, prompting his mother to lodge a report with the Health Department.
A special task force formed by the Health Ministry found that the blood supplied by KMC was contaminated with HIV.