Bukit Tinggi Hospital Sdn Bhd & Anor v Navin Sharma A/L Karam Chand & Anor

Appellant(s):

• Bukit Tinggi Hospital Sdn Bhd
• Dr Prashanth Nambiar a/l Padmanabhan

Respondent(s):

• Navin Sharma a/l Karam Chand
• Saroop Rampal a/p Hardyal Rampal

• YA Datuk S. Nantha Balan A/L E.S. Moorthy
• YA Datuk Azimah binti Omar
• YA Dato' Ahmad Kamal Bin Md. Shahid

• The deceased presented to the first appellant's hospital with severe abdominal pain and was misdiagnosed by the second appellant, a medical officer, leading to her discharge.
• Her condition rapidly deteriorated, and she was rushed back to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with a ruptured ovarian cyst and septicemia, ultimately leading to her death.
• The High Court found the appellants liable for medical negligence and awarded various heads of damages, including a substantial sum for aggravated damages, which both parties appealed regarding quantum.

• Whether the High Court's award for pain and suffering and loss of amenities was excessive given the limited duration of the deceased's conscious suffering.
• Whether the claim for loss of dependency was adequately proven, particularly in the absence of direct evidence of the deceased's financial contribution to the household.
• Whether the deceased's estate could claim aggravated damages for conduct occurring after her death or during litigation, and if the High Court's award for such damages was legally justified and properly pleaded.

• The Court of Appeal reduced the award for pain and suffering and loss of amenities from RM100,000 to RM50,000, considering the approximately 24-hour period of intense suffering.
• The Court set aside the entire award for loss of dependency, ruling that the claim was not proven by cogent evidence and rejecting the "modern method" of calculating dependency without proof of actual financial contribution.
• The Court set aside the award of RM700,000 for aggravated damages, holding that such damages must be specifically pleaded and particularized, are compensatory for a *living* plaintiff's emotional injury, and cannot be claimed by an estate for conduct occurring after the deceased's death or for litigation misconduct.