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                                         LEGAL CAULDRON
                                                                              Jayadeep Hari & Jamil
                                                                                                            Advocates and Solicitors
                                                                                                                                                                 WE CARE

                                                                                                                                                        In this issue:

                                                                                                                                                        Medical Records—Yours or
                                                                                                                                                        mine?

                                                                                                                                                        Enter at your own risk—Or
                                                                                                                                                        is it really at my risk?

                                                                                                                                                        Private Hospital Costs—Are
                                                                                                                                                        you entitled?

                                                                                                                                                        JHJ sponsors book prize for
                                                                                                                                                        top LLB student.

                                                                                                                                                        Feature Article by our At-
                                                                                                                                                        tachment Students.

                                                                                                                                                        Check out JHJ’s new ex-
                                                                                                                                                        panded office


                                                                                                                                                        The Cauldron Team:

                                                                                                                                                        EDITOR:
                                                                                                                                                        Andrew Chee


                                    Issue no. 1
LEGAL CAULDRON Issue No 1 of 2012




                                                                                                                                                        DESIGN & LAYOUT:
                                                                                                                                                        Andrew Chee




                                               2012
                                                                                                                                                        CONTRIBUTORS:
                                                                                                                                                        Eunice H.S. Ong


                                    of
                                                                                                                                                        Barvina Punnusamy
                                                                                                                                                        G. Kumaresan


                                                                                                                                                        Our offices:

                                    PETALING JAYA              KOTA BHARU 1                   KOTA BHARU 2                       MELAKA                 KUALA LUMPUR
                                    Unit 612, 6th Floor,       2713, 1st Floor, Section 22,   Tingkat 2, Lot 11,                 No.54-1, Jalan TU 2,   Suite 2.03 (2nd Floor)
                                    Menara Mutiara Majestic,   Batu 2, Jalan Kuala Krai,      Bangunan Tabung Haji,              Taman Tasik Utama,     Block A, No 45, Medan Setia Satu,
                                    No. 15, Jalan Othman,      15050 Kota Bharu,              Kompleks Niaga, Jalan Dato Pati,   75450 Ayer Keroh,      Plaza Damansara, Bukit Damansara,
                                    46000 PJ, Selangor.        Kelantan.                      15000 Kota Bharu, Kelantan.        Melaka.                50490 Kuala Lumpur.

                                    T: 03-7784 7255            T: 09-741 2050                 T: 09-747 7782                     T: 06-234 7330         T: 03-2096 1478 | F: 03-2096 1480
                                    F: 03-7781 7255            F: 09-741 2051                 F: 09-747 4733                     F: 06-234 4800         www.jhj.com.my
MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR:
Welcome once again to the first edition of the           And with that in mind, we still do our best for our
Legal Cauldron for the year 2012. We are proud           clients and do everything we can to ensure that
to bring you more legal writings from the JHJ            they grow so that we may grow with them.
team. As always we do our best to keep our cli-
ents abreast with pertinent legal and social issues      We still want to be your “preferred legal part-
and we hope you enjoy reading the articles as            ners” and support you in all that you do. As such,
much as we enjoyed writing them.                         we do not simply throw you the solution you
                                                         need like going to court and then forgetting all
In the last couple of editions of the Cauldron we        about it. Have a chat with us about your legal
mentioned our JHJ 360o STUDENT AT-                       needs and we will give you every possible alterna-
TACHMENT PROGRAMME and we are                            tive to your situation. At JHJ, we care for you and
happy to announce that we have launched it and           your wellbeing.
taken in the first batch of attachment students.
The students currently come-in on a flexible basis       Be it a corporate matter, a pending litigation, pur-
to complete their assigned tasks under the guid-         chasing your first property or even a business ven-
ance of a “convenor” in each department. We              ture or idea you are merely thinking about trying
look forward to working with them and are ex-            out, talk to us! We like to share our experience in
cited to see what these brilliant young minds have       addition to our expertise and we never charge for
to offer. See what they have to say in our feature       a first meeting. You have nothing to lose and eve-
article.                                                 rything to gain. Our guarantee is that you will feel
                                                         more comfortable after meeting us.
We would also like to inform our valued clients
that JHJ has not only re-branded, but has also ex- Here’s wishing you a prosperous 2012!
panded! Our KL Branch in Bukit Damansara is still
at the same location but we have increased our
office space and equipped ourselves with better
meeting rooms, bigger library space, a common                              EDITOR
room, and of course, more spacious office rooms
and workstations.                                                Andrew Chee
                                                                    Knowledge Dept
We cordially invite you, our esteemed clients to            andrewchee@jhj.com.my WE                CARE
come and view our new office. We are glad to
give you a tour and have a casual conversation
over coffee just to catch up. Do check out the
photos of our expanded office in this newsletter
as well.

We would like to emphasise that although we
may have re-branded, became bigger, and have
more staff, our commitment to our clients re-
mains the same. Our warmth, personal attention,
sincerity and genuine concern have not wavered
and we remained steadfast to our We Care phi-
losophy.

We believe that being legal solution providers and
consultants that really care for their clients sets us
apart and we want to continue to care. We be-
lieve as our clients grow in strength, so do we.

                                          Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 2
MEDICAL RECORDS
                             - Yours or Mine?
                                                                               By Eunice H.S. Ong

        You’ve been discharged from a Hospital or a                     Going back to regulation 44 above and inter-
medical centre. You cannot help the feeling looming in         preting it, the regulation only says, “The patient’s medi-
your gut of something amiss in the management or               cal record belongs to the Hospital,” there is no mention
maybe you just want an explanation of why a certain            of copies of the records.
treatment was given as opposed to another. Where do
you even start in getting your questions answered?                      However, if you demand from the Hospital that
                                                               you are entitled to your own medical records, chances
         Ordinarily, you would go on a combative mode          are that you will be shot down by again a rigid script
and demand an answer or maybe even compensation                which goes something like this:-“I understand your frus-
from the sweet lady at the Hospital’s payment or dis-          tration Sir, but these are the hospital’s strict policies.”
charge counter. She has probably been given a rigid
script to tell you “I am sorry Sir, but these are the Hos-             So this begs the question again: “medical re-
pital’s policies”.                                             cords, yours or mine?”

         You go home, you meet friends and relatives                   Pursuant to the 2006 regulations, a private
who are incidentally doctors and lawyers. They would           healthcare facility, hospital and/or a medical centre is
usually provoke the sparks to a burning fire which leads       required under Regulation 39(1) of the 2006 Regu-
you to write a strongly worded letter (most likely to be       lations to provide a “Patient Grievance Mechanism
the words of your lawyer) to the hospital demanding            Plan”.
copies of the medical records and an explanation of
your treatment. And you further push the limits by de-
manding for an extravagant compensation.                           “A patient’s medical record is the
          Only to add oil to your burning fury, you re-          property of a private healthcare facil-
ceive a reply maybe 2 or 3 months later from the hospi-
tal stating that your medical records belong to the hos-
                                                                           ity or service…”
pital and a blanket denial of mismanagement.
                                                                        This entails a patient relations officer to receive
        Before you go on a furious rampage of allega-          your complaints, facilitate investigations and provide
tions and accusations against the hospital of being this       resolution within 10 working days. The regulations also
corporate monster, the bad news is your very own               provide that if the patient is still dissatisfied with the
medical record does in fact belong to the hospital.            reply given by the hospital, he or she may refer to the
                                                               Director General.
         In the Private Healthcare Facilities and
Services (Private Hospitals and Other private                          Furthermore in the 2006 regulations, the Ma-
Healthcare Facilities) Regulations 2006, Regulation            laysian Medical Council had compiled guidelines in
44 (1) states:-                                                regard to the dissemination of information by the medi-
                                                               cal profession. And in page 14, paragraph 1.15, it pro-
 “A patient’s medical record is the property of a private      vides that:-
 healthcare facility or service.”
                                                               “A patient may be entitled to access medical records as part
In Regulation 44 (2) of the 2006 Regulations, it               of the contract between him/her and the medical practitio-
states further:-                                               ner, for various purposes, ranging from need to seek second
                                                               opinion, to seek further treatment elsewhere, or for litiga-
 “No patient’s medical record shall be taken out from the      tion.”
 private healthcare facility or service except under a court
 order…”                                                       And further in the same paragraph:-

         You might ask: - I only want to know what hap-        “Medical practitioners and persons in charge of healthcare
pened and an explanation of the treatment given. Do I          facilities and services are generally expected to cooperate
actually have to engage a lawyer just to get an order          and release all parts of the medical records.”
from the Court for the disclosure and access of my own
medical records? To some, this may not make any prac-
tical sense.

                                                Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 3
This means that pursuant to the guidelines, a      most everything that was done during the course of
medical practitioner or the hospital should cooperate in    your treatment.
releasing medical records to the patient, when re-
quested. But a guideline is nonetheless only a guideline    Your medical records may not belong to you, but the
and there is no obligation by the hospital except for a     information contained in the medical records are cer-
conscientious obligation to cooperate with you.             tainly yours and only yours.

        Pursuant to the guidelines mentioned on page
17, paragraph 2.1, a medical practitioner is also obliged
to provide a comprehensive medical report when re-                         By Eunice H.S. Ong
quested by patients or by the next of kin, in the case of
children or minors. It also goes on to explain as to the
                                                                             eunice@jhj.com.my
structure of the medical report, which is as follows:-
                                                                                                 WE CARE
• A brief statement of who the practitioner is and his
specialty and appointment;
                                                            LIVERPOOL FC TOUR 2011
•    Whether the practitioner has the authority to write
                                                      There are Liverpool fans, then there are JHJ Liverpool
     the report;
                                                      fans. When LFC came to Malaysia, to watch the match
•    A statement of which medical reports were avail-
                                                      was do-or-die. The ecstatic JHJ LFC fans had the time
     able when writing the report; and                of their lives while the JHJ MUFC fans stayed home.

•    Any special circumstances.

The contents of the practitioner’s medical report are
also provided, and it is as follows:-

•    Patient identification data;

•    Dates and time of admission or treatment;

•    Brief history;

•    Significant examination findings;

•    Results of relevant investigations;

•    Diagnosis;

•    Treatment; and

•    Management plan.


    “… there is no obligation by the hos-
     pital except for a conscientious obli-
            gation to cooperate…”
        Now this is an obligation on part of your medi-
cal practitioner and the hospital to give a comprehen-
sive medical report, which is almost everything you have
undergone for treatment under their care and manage-
ment.

          Summarizing all these legal jargon: no, you are
not entitled to your own medical records as they are
properties of the hospital/medical centre/private medi-
cal facility. On the other hand, you are surely entitled
to a medical report giving you an explanation of the
treatment given to you, your current condition and al-

                                            Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 4
EVENTS
                           The JHJ Family goes for a holiday in Penang!
After going through a hectic first-half of 2011 and organizing charity and other events, the JHJ Family took a
much deserved rest in our annual Office Trip, this time to Penang. As always, wherever JHJ goes, competition
must ensue. A raucous game of charades saw us competing intensely to start off the holiday. We thereafter pro-
ceeded to really enjoy our holiday on the beach and shopping in colourful and lovely state of Penang.




                                          Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 5
ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK
                            - or is it really at my risk?
                                                                           By Barvina Punnusamy

          Many of you are business owners and being busi-                Thus, in this case, when Anna walked into your
ness owners, you would have a place to run the business         store to purchase a dress, she was entering into your store
depending on the nature of your business. It could be an        as an invitee since she had business of interest. Since Anna
office, factory, retail outlet or even at the convenience of    was an invitee when she entered into your store, you owed
your home. On a daily basis, many people will enter into        a duty towards her to ensure that the store was safe for the
your place of business especially with the purpose of buying    purposes for which they are meant to be used. You also
or engaging any services that you are offering to the public.   owe a duty to prevent injury to Anna from unusual danger
You would think that if anything happened while they are in     on the premises which you know or ought to know and
your place of business that you would not be responsible        which Anna does not know about as decided in Takong
for it. After all, they were the ones who entered into your     Tabari v Government of Sarawak & Ors [1996] 5 MLJ
place of business.                                              435 and Sri Inai (Pulau Pinang) SdnBhd v Yong Yit Swee
                                                                & Ors [2003] 1 MLJ 273 .
         Take the following scenario for an example. Anna
walks into your store to purchase a dress that you have on      Since Anna fell due to the wet floor, does that amount to
display and your employee has just mopped the floor but         unusual danger or risk that you as an occupier have a duty
you did not place any warning signs to warn that the floor is   to prevent? Unusual risk or danger means one which is not
wet and slippery. Anna, who did not notice the wet floor,       found in carrying out the task which the invitee has in hand
slips and falls down. She has sustained injuries and her        as defined in the case of Lee Lau & Sons Realty Sdn Bhd
clothes are damaged. She is threatening to sue you if you       v Tan Yah & Ors [1983] 2 MLJ 51. What this means is
don’t give her any compensation. What do you do? Are you        that the premises was used to sell clothing items and surely
responsible for her fall? Shouldn’t she have noticed the wet    Anna would not expect the floor to be wet and slippery.
floor and be cautious when she is walking?                      Therefore, the wet floor was unusual to Anna and unknown
                                                                to her since there were no warning signs placed.

   “… being the owners of a premises,
  you owe certain duties to people who                             “… it was your duty as the occupier
        enter your premises…”                                      to inform entrants of the danger…”
          To answer the questions above, we will need to
look into the branch of law known as occupier’s liability.               Since it was your employee who had mopped the
Occupier’s liability means being the owners of a premises,      floor and it was known to you that a wet floor can cause
you owe certain duties to the people who enter into your        entrants to slip and fall, it was your duty as the occupier to
premises. Failure to exercise the duties imposed as an occu-    inform the entrants of the danger. You should have placed
pier amounts to negligence. An occupier is a person who         warning signs so that Anna would have known that the floor
has sufficient control over the premises that will put him      was wet and slippery, and then she could have exercised
under a duty of care towards those who come lawfully upon       caution when she was walking in your store.
the premises as decided in China Insurance Co Ltd v Who
Hup ( PTE) Ltd (1977) 2 MLJ 57. This means that if you                    Failure to take reasonable measures to ensure that
operate a retail store and you had rented a store for that      your premises was safe for the entrants amounts to negli-
purpose, you are categorised as an occupier since you have      gence. So, this means that you would be responsible for
sufficient control over the premises even though you may        Anna’s fall and you would have to pay her damages for the
not legally own the store.                                      injuries she has sustained and any other damages that she
                                                                has incurred. If you had placed a warning sign and taken rea-
         So what is the nature of duty owed by an occupier      sonable steps to ensure that your premises was safe but
to the various people who enter into their premises? It         Anna still falls down, then you would not be held responsi-
would depend on the categories of the entrants which are        ble since you have discharged your duty as an occupier.
divided to contractual entrants meaning people who enter a
premises by virtue of a contract; invitees meaning people                Therefore, before you open the door of your place
who enter a premises on business of interest; licensees         of business to entrants, take all the steps to ensure that the
meaning people enter a premises with either express of          premises is safe and there aren’t any defects that may cause
implied permission of the occupier and lastly trespassers.      harm to the entrants.


                                               Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 6
You can also conduct inspection and maintenance
of your place of business on a regular basis to ensure that
your premises is safe. So, the next time someone walks into
your place of business, be sure that you have taken reason-
                                                                  NEWSFLASH
able steps to ensure that your place of business is safe and
there are no dangers lurking around the corner waiting to
pounce on unsuspecting entrants.                                  As part of our Corporate Social Responsi-
                                                                  bility (CSR) efforts, we are proud to an-
                                                                  nounce that JHJ is has sponsored a book
         By Barvina Punnusamy                                     prize for the:
              barvina@jhj.com.my

                                            WE CARE                  TOP STUDENT OF THE FINAL
                                                                          YEAR LLB DEGREE
Interesting cases:                                                    (UNIVERSITY OF LONDON)
HTC Global Services MSC Sdn Bhd v Kom-
pakar Ebiz Sdn Bhd [2011] 9 MLJ 572:                                       in Brickfields Asia College.
If a party receives invoices from a supplier but fails to raise
any objection to it, that party cannot later deny that it owes
money under that invoice.


Ang Yew Meng & Anor v Dr Sashikannan a/l
Arunasalam [2011] 9 MLJ 153:
A doctor owes no general duty to give any emergency treat-
ment, but if he chooses to give treatment, even in an emer-
gency situation, then he owes a duty of care to the patient.


                                                                   JHJ Book Prize Winner &
Maybank v Cheo Ai Mee & Anor [2011] 3 AMR                          Top Student of UOL LLB
807:                                                               Final Year—Ng Chin Han
An employer has an implied right to transfer employees. An
employee’s refusal to comply with a transfer is insubordina-      Together with the book prize, the winner
tion and an employer is justified in dismissing such an em-       is automatically qualified to participate in
ployee.
                                                                  JHJ’s 360o STUDENT ATTACHMENT
                                                                  PROGRAMME. We are therefore happy
Sherinna Nur Elena bt Abdullah v Kent Well
Edar Sdn Bhd [2011] 1 AMCR 905
                                                                  to introduce to you, Mr Ng Chin Han,
There is no invasion of privacy if someone uses a photo of        the 2011 winner of the JHJ Book Prize.
you for commercial purposes if the photo was taken in a           Chin Han has recently joined us and is un-
public area at a public event..                                   dergoing the Attachment Programme.

Tegas Baiduri Sdn Bhd v BIMB Trust Ltd & Ors                      We have committed ourselves to sponsor-
[2011] 8 MLJ 210                                                  ing the prize for the next 5 years and we
An employer is liable for its employees’ representations,
                                                                  would like to thank BAC for giving us the
even fraudulent representations, to another party, if the
employee had made such representations in the course of           opportunity to participate in the moulding
his/her employment.                                               of young minds for the future.


                                                 Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 7
FEATURE ARTICLE
                                                            What they have to say so far:
                         JHJ
                                                            After sifting through various applications and conducting
         360o            STUDENT                            numerous interviews, JHJ selected two young lads who dis-
                         ATTACHMENT                         play potential, intelligence and most of all, a strong desire to
                                                            succeed. We are happy to have them as part of our family
                         PROGRAMME                          and here is what they have to say after one month with us.

                          Vijayandran
                          22 years old
                          LLB University of London External Program 2011

                          I started my attachment with Jayadeep Hari & Jamil in October 2011 under the JHJ 360o program.
                          This program was tailored for law graduates who are currently pursuing their Certificate in Legal
                          Practice and was designed to teach and expose potential lawyers on the workings and skills re-
                          quired in a law firm.

                       The first day in office was more than sufficient for me to realize how different the working world
                       was compared to studying. Nothing in class had prepared us to handle documents, draft letters,
draft notices and many more that are required in the legal field. Although the lawyers gave us fictional scenarios, the les-
sons we learnt were very real.

It is undeniable that it was intimidating working in a prestigious law firm at the start where I had no clue about anything.
However, it wasn’t hard to fit in as everyone was very helpful and friendly right down from the Chambering students up to
the Senior Partners. No one turned down a question regardless of how busy they were and they were always willing to
help out. I’m very thankful that I was lucky to be selected for this JHJ 360o program and am given this amazing opportunity
to learn and be exposed to the life of a lawyer. I know that at the end of this program, I would be ready to start my career
in becoming a successful lawyer.

                          Fong Kai Mun
                          24 years old
                          LLB University of London External Program 2011

                          When I first heard about this new attachment programme offered by JHJ, I was told that this pro-
                          gramme is tailor made for students, is flexible and very practical and that it would provide an early
                          exposure to the legal profession. I was skeptical as to whether it would be as good as it was de-
                          scribed to be because I have heard stories about how some law firms which do not give their at-
                          tachment students a chance to get in touch with real work of a lawyer. Furthermore I am a stu-
                          dent, and I was worried that if I join this attachment programme, I would probably have to skip
                          classes in order to finish the job.

Now, I am truly grateful that I was given a chance to join the firm as an attachment student. As an attachment student un-
der the JHJ 360 I was given an opportunity to explore different areas of law. I am constantly learning new things, both prac-
tical and vital for me to prepare myself for the job of a practicing lawyer; things that I can never learn from the textbooks. I
enjoyed the fictional problems they posed to us and the useful practical lessons we learnt. The programme is flexible that it
allows me to manage my time freely. I sincerely think that no other firm would be so generous to an attachment student.

Above all, the people in JHJ, from the partners to the staff are all very friendly and they are really willing to teach. I believe I
can never feel more comfortable asking questions anywhere else. Even when the lawyers are busy, they have never once
stopped me from asking questions. I have even been given personal advice on how to strive towards success and what atti-
tude I should possess in becoming a truly successful lawyer. I am also advised to take pride in what we do, these are invalu-
able advice that I think would assist me greatly in the future.

Lastly, I am thankful that JHJ chose me for the attachment programme. Although I think I’m not as good as I should be aca-
demically, I intend to put all my effort into this attachment programme with a sense of gratitude towards the people who
gave me a chance.

                                                  Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 8
PRIVATE HOSPITAL COSTS
                               - Are you entitled?
                                                                                By G. Kumaresan

        Nowadays many Malaysians choose to go to             then, more likely than not the court would award an
private hospitals rather than to government hospitals        amount not exceeding one-third of the expenses in-
once they meet with an accident. We all know that gen-       curred. This one-third amount was not fixed by any
erally the costs in private hospitals are much more          written law but was arrived at as a matter of practice.
compared to government hospitals.
                                                                       In the case of, Harcharan Singh a/l Saudagar
        The question then is – can the victim of the         Singh v Hassan bin Ariffin [1990] 2 CLJ 393, the
road accident claim from the wrongdoer for the entire        plaintiff was admitted to Hospital Besar Ipoh with multi-
sum they paid at the private hospital?                       ple fractures. A doctor told him that his leg might have
                                                             to be amputated, whereupon his family transferred him
        Generally when the costs claimed is for costs        to Fatimah Hospital for further treatment and manage-
incurred in a government hospital, the courts have no        ment. Abdul Malek Ahmad J (as he then was) allowed
problem allowing for the full claim. But the problem         the plaintiff's claim of RM6,711 being the medical ex-
arises when the courts have to decide on costs incurred      penses incurred at Fatimah Hospital, but in respect of
at a private hospital for treatments after a road acci-      two operations that were to be performed in the future
dent.                                                        at the estimated costs of RM2,500 and RM4,000 respec-
                                                             tively, the learned judge, following allowed only 1 /3 of
         The general law is that if you meet with an acci-   the amount.
dent, the courts will allow the full medical costs in-
curred in a government hospital. However if the costs
was incurred in a private hospital then generally the
courts will only allow 1/3 of what was expensed unless        “… if the costs was incurred in a Pri-
it was reasonable to incur the said costs.
                                                                vate Hospital then generally the
        A few cases cited below show will illustrate the          courts will only allow 1/3…”
point made above.

        In the case of CHAI YEE CHONG v LEW                            In the case of Peraganathan a/l Karpaya v
THAI [2004] 2 MLJ 465, Abdul Hamid Mohamad                   Choong Yuk Sang & Anor [1996] 1 CLJ 622 , the
FCJ , the Court held that whether the full cost for          plaintiff claimed the sum of RM11,629.90 being medical
treatment in private hospital needs to be paid will de-      expenses incurred by him at the Fatimah Hospital, Ipoh.
pend on a few factors. If the treatment was sought at a      The evidence showed that the plaintiff was admitted to
government hospital, the full amount expended and paid       the Teluk Intan District Hospital after an accident.
by the person should be awarded.                             While he was unconscious, his father transferred him to
                                                             the Fatimah Hospital Ipoh for further treatment.
          However, if the plaintiff had sought treatment
at a private hospital, he had to first prove that he was              Chin Fook Yen JC (as he then was) followed
justified in seeking treatment at the private hospital. In   Tang Sia Bak and allowed only one third of the expenses
this regard, he must prove that:-                            claimed by the plaintiff (RM4,000). He further held as
                                                             follows. “It is my opinion that when the court is called
•   the particular treatment was not available at the        upon to determine whether or not the expenses in-
    government hospital either due to the unavailability     curred in a private hospital should be allowed in such
    of the necessary equipment, qualified doctors or         cases it should not rely on medical advice solely as such,
    other sufficient reasons; or                             but whether in this particular circumstances of the case,
                                                             the hospital concerned is ready and able to provide ade-
•   although the treatment was available at a general        quate facilities, expertise and treatment to the patient.”
    hospital, it was not available within a reasonable
    period considering the urgency of the treatment; or              Applying the above test, the learned judicial
                                                             commissioner came to the conclusion that the plaintiff
•   the treatment at the government hospital, though
                                                             had not produced any evidence to satisfy him that the
    available, was grossly inadequate.
                                                             state of affairs that existed in the Teluk Intan District
        If the court was not satisfied that the plaintiff    Hospital gave rise to any apprehension such as that
was justified in seeking treatment at a private hospital,    treatment would not be given.

                                             Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 9
In the case of Chong Chee Khong & Anor v
Ng Yeow Hin [1997] 5 MLJ 786, the reason the first
plaintiff went to Tawakal Hospital where he expended a          MORE EVENTS
sum of RM15,429.00 was because University Hospital
did not attend to an injury to his right leg. Yet, he did       Xmas Kringle
not provide any report or letter from Tawakal Hospital
to show that such was indeed the case. A mere asser-                2011
tion without documentary evidence will result in the
court rejecting this claim totally.

         In the case of Balbir Singh A/L Chanan
Singh v Thirunaugarasu A/L Muthusamy and
Anor, 2010 MLJU 530 the High Court held, it is be-
yond comprehension that the appellant could expect to
be awarded fully the total amount incurred for his treat-
ment at Hospital Fatimah when his initial admission and
subsequent treatment at Hospital Ipoh had involved the
internal fixation of his fractures. On 20.9.1999 he dis-
charged himself at his own risk after which he chose to
be admitted to Hospital Fatimah where he was merely
put on physiotherapy exercises to increase the range of
movements in his knee joints. There was no record of
any other medical treatment given to him at Hospital
Fatimah. There was no evidence that the physiotherapy
treatment at Hospital Fatimah was not available or ade-     The JHJ Family posing for a group photo after receiving pre-
quate at Hospital Ipoh. The Sessions Court Judge had                      sents from their secret Santas.
not erred in awarding 1/3 of the whole.



   “A mere assertion without documen-
   tary evidence will result in the court
      rejecting this claim totally…”
         The above cases have clearly shown to us that if
there is credible and reasonable grounds for a person
to incur medical treatment at a private hospital, then
the court will award the full amount of cost that was
spent in private hospitals. Otherwise the court will only
award 1/3 of the total costs of medical expenses spent
in private hospitals.
                                                                The look of sheer “joy” when receiving their gifts!



              By G. Kumaresan
           kumaresan@jhj.com.my

                                         WE CARE




                                                                        T’was also the season for birthdays.

                                            Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 10
JHJ’s Expanded Office




      Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 11
WE CARE
                     Kuala Lumpur        .   Petaling Jaya      .   Kota Bharu       .    Melaka

This is a publication produced by the JHJ Knowledge Department. For any inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact
us: T: 03-2096 1478 | F: 03-2096 1480 | E: kd@jhj.com.my | W: www.jhj.com.my

Publisher: Messrs Jayadeep Hari & Jamil, Suite 2.03 (2nd Floor), Block A, Plaza Damansara, Bukit Damansara, 50490 KL.
Printers: Pressworks Enterprise, No 20, Jalan Usaha Satu 25/2A, 40400 Shah Alam.

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Legal Cauldron issue 1 of 2012

  • 1. No KDN: PP 15706/02/2011 LEGAL CAULDRON Jayadeep Hari & Jamil Advocates and Solicitors WE CARE In this issue: Medical Records—Yours or mine? Enter at your own risk—Or is it really at my risk? Private Hospital Costs—Are you entitled? JHJ sponsors book prize for top LLB student. Feature Article by our At- tachment Students. Check out JHJ’s new ex- panded office The Cauldron Team: EDITOR: Andrew Chee Issue no. 1 LEGAL CAULDRON Issue No 1 of 2012 DESIGN & LAYOUT: Andrew Chee 2012 CONTRIBUTORS: Eunice H.S. Ong of Barvina Punnusamy G. Kumaresan Our offices: PETALING JAYA KOTA BHARU 1 KOTA BHARU 2 MELAKA KUALA LUMPUR Unit 612, 6th Floor, 2713, 1st Floor, Section 22, Tingkat 2, Lot 11, No.54-1, Jalan TU 2, Suite 2.03 (2nd Floor) Menara Mutiara Majestic, Batu 2, Jalan Kuala Krai, Bangunan Tabung Haji, Taman Tasik Utama, Block A, No 45, Medan Setia Satu, No. 15, Jalan Othman, 15050 Kota Bharu, Kompleks Niaga, Jalan Dato Pati, 75450 Ayer Keroh, Plaza Damansara, Bukit Damansara, 46000 PJ, Selangor. Kelantan. 15000 Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Melaka. 50490 Kuala Lumpur. T: 03-7784 7255 T: 09-741 2050 T: 09-747 7782 T: 06-234 7330 T: 03-2096 1478 | F: 03-2096 1480 F: 03-7781 7255 F: 09-741 2051 F: 09-747 4733 F: 06-234 4800 www.jhj.com.my
  • 2. MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR: Welcome once again to the first edition of the And with that in mind, we still do our best for our Legal Cauldron for the year 2012. We are proud clients and do everything we can to ensure that to bring you more legal writings from the JHJ they grow so that we may grow with them. team. As always we do our best to keep our cli- ents abreast with pertinent legal and social issues We still want to be your “preferred legal part- and we hope you enjoy reading the articles as ners” and support you in all that you do. As such, much as we enjoyed writing them. we do not simply throw you the solution you need like going to court and then forgetting all In the last couple of editions of the Cauldron we about it. Have a chat with us about your legal mentioned our JHJ 360o STUDENT AT- needs and we will give you every possible alterna- TACHMENT PROGRAMME and we are tive to your situation. At JHJ, we care for you and happy to announce that we have launched it and your wellbeing. taken in the first batch of attachment students. The students currently come-in on a flexible basis Be it a corporate matter, a pending litigation, pur- to complete their assigned tasks under the guid- chasing your first property or even a business ven- ance of a “convenor” in each department. We ture or idea you are merely thinking about trying look forward to working with them and are ex- out, talk to us! We like to share our experience in cited to see what these brilliant young minds have addition to our expertise and we never charge for to offer. See what they have to say in our feature a first meeting. You have nothing to lose and eve- article. rything to gain. Our guarantee is that you will feel more comfortable after meeting us. We would also like to inform our valued clients that JHJ has not only re-branded, but has also ex- Here’s wishing you a prosperous 2012! panded! Our KL Branch in Bukit Damansara is still at the same location but we have increased our office space and equipped ourselves with better meeting rooms, bigger library space, a common EDITOR room, and of course, more spacious office rooms and workstations. Andrew Chee Knowledge Dept We cordially invite you, our esteemed clients to andrewchee@jhj.com.my WE CARE come and view our new office. We are glad to give you a tour and have a casual conversation over coffee just to catch up. Do check out the photos of our expanded office in this newsletter as well. We would like to emphasise that although we may have re-branded, became bigger, and have more staff, our commitment to our clients re- mains the same. Our warmth, personal attention, sincerity and genuine concern have not wavered and we remained steadfast to our We Care phi- losophy. We believe that being legal solution providers and consultants that really care for their clients sets us apart and we want to continue to care. We be- lieve as our clients grow in strength, so do we. Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 2
  • 3. MEDICAL RECORDS - Yours or Mine? By Eunice H.S. Ong You’ve been discharged from a Hospital or a Going back to regulation 44 above and inter- medical centre. You cannot help the feeling looming in preting it, the regulation only says, “The patient’s medi- your gut of something amiss in the management or cal record belongs to the Hospital,” there is no mention maybe you just want an explanation of why a certain of copies of the records. treatment was given as opposed to another. Where do you even start in getting your questions answered? However, if you demand from the Hospital that you are entitled to your own medical records, chances Ordinarily, you would go on a combative mode are that you will be shot down by again a rigid script and demand an answer or maybe even compensation which goes something like this:-“I understand your frus- from the sweet lady at the Hospital’s payment or dis- tration Sir, but these are the hospital’s strict policies.” charge counter. She has probably been given a rigid script to tell you “I am sorry Sir, but these are the Hos- So this begs the question again: “medical re- pital’s policies”. cords, yours or mine?” You go home, you meet friends and relatives Pursuant to the 2006 regulations, a private who are incidentally doctors and lawyers. They would healthcare facility, hospital and/or a medical centre is usually provoke the sparks to a burning fire which leads required under Regulation 39(1) of the 2006 Regu- you to write a strongly worded letter (most likely to be lations to provide a “Patient Grievance Mechanism the words of your lawyer) to the hospital demanding Plan”. copies of the medical records and an explanation of your treatment. And you further push the limits by de- manding for an extravagant compensation. “A patient’s medical record is the Only to add oil to your burning fury, you re- property of a private healthcare facil- ceive a reply maybe 2 or 3 months later from the hospi- tal stating that your medical records belong to the hos- ity or service…” pital and a blanket denial of mismanagement. This entails a patient relations officer to receive Before you go on a furious rampage of allega- your complaints, facilitate investigations and provide tions and accusations against the hospital of being this resolution within 10 working days. The regulations also corporate monster, the bad news is your very own provide that if the patient is still dissatisfied with the medical record does in fact belong to the hospital. reply given by the hospital, he or she may refer to the Director General. In the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services (Private Hospitals and Other private Furthermore in the 2006 regulations, the Ma- Healthcare Facilities) Regulations 2006, Regulation laysian Medical Council had compiled guidelines in 44 (1) states:- regard to the dissemination of information by the medi- cal profession. And in page 14, paragraph 1.15, it pro- “A patient’s medical record is the property of a private vides that:- healthcare facility or service.” “A patient may be entitled to access medical records as part In Regulation 44 (2) of the 2006 Regulations, it of the contract between him/her and the medical practitio- states further:- ner, for various purposes, ranging from need to seek second opinion, to seek further treatment elsewhere, or for litiga- “No patient’s medical record shall be taken out from the tion.” private healthcare facility or service except under a court order…” And further in the same paragraph:- You might ask: - I only want to know what hap- “Medical practitioners and persons in charge of healthcare pened and an explanation of the treatment given. Do I facilities and services are generally expected to cooperate actually have to engage a lawyer just to get an order and release all parts of the medical records.” from the Court for the disclosure and access of my own medical records? To some, this may not make any prac- tical sense. Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 3
  • 4. This means that pursuant to the guidelines, a most everything that was done during the course of medical practitioner or the hospital should cooperate in your treatment. releasing medical records to the patient, when re- quested. But a guideline is nonetheless only a guideline Your medical records may not belong to you, but the and there is no obligation by the hospital except for a information contained in the medical records are cer- conscientious obligation to cooperate with you. tainly yours and only yours. Pursuant to the guidelines mentioned on page 17, paragraph 2.1, a medical practitioner is also obliged to provide a comprehensive medical report when re- By Eunice H.S. Ong quested by patients or by the next of kin, in the case of children or minors. It also goes on to explain as to the eunice@jhj.com.my structure of the medical report, which is as follows:- WE CARE • A brief statement of who the practitioner is and his specialty and appointment; LIVERPOOL FC TOUR 2011 • Whether the practitioner has the authority to write There are Liverpool fans, then there are JHJ Liverpool the report; fans. When LFC came to Malaysia, to watch the match • A statement of which medical reports were avail- was do-or-die. The ecstatic JHJ LFC fans had the time able when writing the report; and of their lives while the JHJ MUFC fans stayed home. • Any special circumstances. The contents of the practitioner’s medical report are also provided, and it is as follows:- • Patient identification data; • Dates and time of admission or treatment; • Brief history; • Significant examination findings; • Results of relevant investigations; • Diagnosis; • Treatment; and • Management plan. “… there is no obligation by the hos- pital except for a conscientious obli- gation to cooperate…” Now this is an obligation on part of your medi- cal practitioner and the hospital to give a comprehen- sive medical report, which is almost everything you have undergone for treatment under their care and manage- ment. Summarizing all these legal jargon: no, you are not entitled to your own medical records as they are properties of the hospital/medical centre/private medi- cal facility. On the other hand, you are surely entitled to a medical report giving you an explanation of the treatment given to you, your current condition and al- Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 4
  • 5. EVENTS The JHJ Family goes for a holiday in Penang! After going through a hectic first-half of 2011 and organizing charity and other events, the JHJ Family took a much deserved rest in our annual Office Trip, this time to Penang. As always, wherever JHJ goes, competition must ensue. A raucous game of charades saw us competing intensely to start off the holiday. We thereafter pro- ceeded to really enjoy our holiday on the beach and shopping in colourful and lovely state of Penang. Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 5
  • 6. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK - or is it really at my risk? By Barvina Punnusamy Many of you are business owners and being busi- Thus, in this case, when Anna walked into your ness owners, you would have a place to run the business store to purchase a dress, she was entering into your store depending on the nature of your business. It could be an as an invitee since she had business of interest. Since Anna office, factory, retail outlet or even at the convenience of was an invitee when she entered into your store, you owed your home. On a daily basis, many people will enter into a duty towards her to ensure that the store was safe for the your place of business especially with the purpose of buying purposes for which they are meant to be used. You also or engaging any services that you are offering to the public. owe a duty to prevent injury to Anna from unusual danger You would think that if anything happened while they are in on the premises which you know or ought to know and your place of business that you would not be responsible which Anna does not know about as decided in Takong for it. After all, they were the ones who entered into your Tabari v Government of Sarawak & Ors [1996] 5 MLJ place of business. 435 and Sri Inai (Pulau Pinang) SdnBhd v Yong Yit Swee & Ors [2003] 1 MLJ 273 . Take the following scenario for an example. Anna walks into your store to purchase a dress that you have on Since Anna fell due to the wet floor, does that amount to display and your employee has just mopped the floor but unusual danger or risk that you as an occupier have a duty you did not place any warning signs to warn that the floor is to prevent? Unusual risk or danger means one which is not wet and slippery. Anna, who did not notice the wet floor, found in carrying out the task which the invitee has in hand slips and falls down. She has sustained injuries and her as defined in the case of Lee Lau & Sons Realty Sdn Bhd clothes are damaged. She is threatening to sue you if you v Tan Yah & Ors [1983] 2 MLJ 51. What this means is don’t give her any compensation. What do you do? Are you that the premises was used to sell clothing items and surely responsible for her fall? Shouldn’t she have noticed the wet Anna would not expect the floor to be wet and slippery. floor and be cautious when she is walking? Therefore, the wet floor was unusual to Anna and unknown to her since there were no warning signs placed. “… being the owners of a premises, you owe certain duties to people who “… it was your duty as the occupier enter your premises…” to inform entrants of the danger…” To answer the questions above, we will need to look into the branch of law known as occupier’s liability. Since it was your employee who had mopped the Occupier’s liability means being the owners of a premises, floor and it was known to you that a wet floor can cause you owe certain duties to the people who enter into your entrants to slip and fall, it was your duty as the occupier to premises. Failure to exercise the duties imposed as an occu- inform the entrants of the danger. You should have placed pier amounts to negligence. An occupier is a person who warning signs so that Anna would have known that the floor has sufficient control over the premises that will put him was wet and slippery, and then she could have exercised under a duty of care towards those who come lawfully upon caution when she was walking in your store. the premises as decided in China Insurance Co Ltd v Who Hup ( PTE) Ltd (1977) 2 MLJ 57. This means that if you Failure to take reasonable measures to ensure that operate a retail store and you had rented a store for that your premises was safe for the entrants amounts to negli- purpose, you are categorised as an occupier since you have gence. So, this means that you would be responsible for sufficient control over the premises even though you may Anna’s fall and you would have to pay her damages for the not legally own the store. injuries she has sustained and any other damages that she has incurred. If you had placed a warning sign and taken rea- So what is the nature of duty owed by an occupier sonable steps to ensure that your premises was safe but to the various people who enter into their premises? It Anna still falls down, then you would not be held responsi- would depend on the categories of the entrants which are ble since you have discharged your duty as an occupier. divided to contractual entrants meaning people who enter a premises by virtue of a contract; invitees meaning people Therefore, before you open the door of your place who enter a premises on business of interest; licensees of business to entrants, take all the steps to ensure that the meaning people enter a premises with either express of premises is safe and there aren’t any defects that may cause implied permission of the occupier and lastly trespassers. harm to the entrants. Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 6
  • 7. You can also conduct inspection and maintenance of your place of business on a regular basis to ensure that your premises is safe. So, the next time someone walks into your place of business, be sure that you have taken reason- NEWSFLASH able steps to ensure that your place of business is safe and there are no dangers lurking around the corner waiting to pounce on unsuspecting entrants. As part of our Corporate Social Responsi- bility (CSR) efforts, we are proud to an- nounce that JHJ is has sponsored a book By Barvina Punnusamy prize for the: barvina@jhj.com.my WE CARE TOP STUDENT OF THE FINAL YEAR LLB DEGREE Interesting cases: (UNIVERSITY OF LONDON) HTC Global Services MSC Sdn Bhd v Kom- pakar Ebiz Sdn Bhd [2011] 9 MLJ 572: in Brickfields Asia College. If a party receives invoices from a supplier but fails to raise any objection to it, that party cannot later deny that it owes money under that invoice. Ang Yew Meng & Anor v Dr Sashikannan a/l Arunasalam [2011] 9 MLJ 153: A doctor owes no general duty to give any emergency treat- ment, but if he chooses to give treatment, even in an emer- gency situation, then he owes a duty of care to the patient. JHJ Book Prize Winner & Maybank v Cheo Ai Mee & Anor [2011] 3 AMR Top Student of UOL LLB 807: Final Year—Ng Chin Han An employer has an implied right to transfer employees. An employee’s refusal to comply with a transfer is insubordina- Together with the book prize, the winner tion and an employer is justified in dismissing such an em- is automatically qualified to participate in ployee. JHJ’s 360o STUDENT ATTACHMENT PROGRAMME. We are therefore happy Sherinna Nur Elena bt Abdullah v Kent Well Edar Sdn Bhd [2011] 1 AMCR 905 to introduce to you, Mr Ng Chin Han, There is no invasion of privacy if someone uses a photo of the 2011 winner of the JHJ Book Prize. you for commercial purposes if the photo was taken in a Chin Han has recently joined us and is un- public area at a public event.. dergoing the Attachment Programme. Tegas Baiduri Sdn Bhd v BIMB Trust Ltd & Ors We have committed ourselves to sponsor- [2011] 8 MLJ 210 ing the prize for the next 5 years and we An employer is liable for its employees’ representations, would like to thank BAC for giving us the even fraudulent representations, to another party, if the employee had made such representations in the course of opportunity to participate in the moulding his/her employment. of young minds for the future. Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 7
  • 8. FEATURE ARTICLE What they have to say so far: JHJ After sifting through various applications and conducting 360o STUDENT numerous interviews, JHJ selected two young lads who dis- ATTACHMENT play potential, intelligence and most of all, a strong desire to succeed. We are happy to have them as part of our family PROGRAMME and here is what they have to say after one month with us. Vijayandran 22 years old LLB University of London External Program 2011 I started my attachment with Jayadeep Hari & Jamil in October 2011 under the JHJ 360o program. This program was tailored for law graduates who are currently pursuing their Certificate in Legal Practice and was designed to teach and expose potential lawyers on the workings and skills re- quired in a law firm. The first day in office was more than sufficient for me to realize how different the working world was compared to studying. Nothing in class had prepared us to handle documents, draft letters, draft notices and many more that are required in the legal field. Although the lawyers gave us fictional scenarios, the les- sons we learnt were very real. It is undeniable that it was intimidating working in a prestigious law firm at the start where I had no clue about anything. However, it wasn’t hard to fit in as everyone was very helpful and friendly right down from the Chambering students up to the Senior Partners. No one turned down a question regardless of how busy they were and they were always willing to help out. I’m very thankful that I was lucky to be selected for this JHJ 360o program and am given this amazing opportunity to learn and be exposed to the life of a lawyer. I know that at the end of this program, I would be ready to start my career in becoming a successful lawyer. Fong Kai Mun 24 years old LLB University of London External Program 2011 When I first heard about this new attachment programme offered by JHJ, I was told that this pro- gramme is tailor made for students, is flexible and very practical and that it would provide an early exposure to the legal profession. I was skeptical as to whether it would be as good as it was de- scribed to be because I have heard stories about how some law firms which do not give their at- tachment students a chance to get in touch with real work of a lawyer. Furthermore I am a stu- dent, and I was worried that if I join this attachment programme, I would probably have to skip classes in order to finish the job. Now, I am truly grateful that I was given a chance to join the firm as an attachment student. As an attachment student un- der the JHJ 360 I was given an opportunity to explore different areas of law. I am constantly learning new things, both prac- tical and vital for me to prepare myself for the job of a practicing lawyer; things that I can never learn from the textbooks. I enjoyed the fictional problems they posed to us and the useful practical lessons we learnt. The programme is flexible that it allows me to manage my time freely. I sincerely think that no other firm would be so generous to an attachment student. Above all, the people in JHJ, from the partners to the staff are all very friendly and they are really willing to teach. I believe I can never feel more comfortable asking questions anywhere else. Even when the lawyers are busy, they have never once stopped me from asking questions. I have even been given personal advice on how to strive towards success and what atti- tude I should possess in becoming a truly successful lawyer. I am also advised to take pride in what we do, these are invalu- able advice that I think would assist me greatly in the future. Lastly, I am thankful that JHJ chose me for the attachment programme. Although I think I’m not as good as I should be aca- demically, I intend to put all my effort into this attachment programme with a sense of gratitude towards the people who gave me a chance. Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 8
  • 9. PRIVATE HOSPITAL COSTS - Are you entitled? By G. Kumaresan Nowadays many Malaysians choose to go to then, more likely than not the court would award an private hospitals rather than to government hospitals amount not exceeding one-third of the expenses in- once they meet with an accident. We all know that gen- curred. This one-third amount was not fixed by any erally the costs in private hospitals are much more written law but was arrived at as a matter of practice. compared to government hospitals. In the case of, Harcharan Singh a/l Saudagar The question then is – can the victim of the Singh v Hassan bin Ariffin [1990] 2 CLJ 393, the road accident claim from the wrongdoer for the entire plaintiff was admitted to Hospital Besar Ipoh with multi- sum they paid at the private hospital? ple fractures. A doctor told him that his leg might have to be amputated, whereupon his family transferred him Generally when the costs claimed is for costs to Fatimah Hospital for further treatment and manage- incurred in a government hospital, the courts have no ment. Abdul Malek Ahmad J (as he then was) allowed problem allowing for the full claim. But the problem the plaintiff's claim of RM6,711 being the medical ex- arises when the courts have to decide on costs incurred penses incurred at Fatimah Hospital, but in respect of at a private hospital for treatments after a road acci- two operations that were to be performed in the future dent. at the estimated costs of RM2,500 and RM4,000 respec- tively, the learned judge, following allowed only 1 /3 of The general law is that if you meet with an acci- the amount. dent, the courts will allow the full medical costs in- curred in a government hospital. However if the costs was incurred in a private hospital then generally the courts will only allow 1/3 of what was expensed unless “… if the costs was incurred in a Pri- it was reasonable to incur the said costs. vate Hospital then generally the A few cases cited below show will illustrate the courts will only allow 1/3…” point made above. In the case of CHAI YEE CHONG v LEW In the case of Peraganathan a/l Karpaya v THAI [2004] 2 MLJ 465, Abdul Hamid Mohamad Choong Yuk Sang & Anor [1996] 1 CLJ 622 , the FCJ , the Court held that whether the full cost for plaintiff claimed the sum of RM11,629.90 being medical treatment in private hospital needs to be paid will de- expenses incurred by him at the Fatimah Hospital, Ipoh. pend on a few factors. If the treatment was sought at a The evidence showed that the plaintiff was admitted to government hospital, the full amount expended and paid the Teluk Intan District Hospital after an accident. by the person should be awarded. While he was unconscious, his father transferred him to the Fatimah Hospital Ipoh for further treatment. However, if the plaintiff had sought treatment at a private hospital, he had to first prove that he was Chin Fook Yen JC (as he then was) followed justified in seeking treatment at the private hospital. In Tang Sia Bak and allowed only one third of the expenses this regard, he must prove that:- claimed by the plaintiff (RM4,000). He further held as follows. “It is my opinion that when the court is called • the particular treatment was not available at the upon to determine whether or not the expenses in- government hospital either due to the unavailability curred in a private hospital should be allowed in such of the necessary equipment, qualified doctors or cases it should not rely on medical advice solely as such, other sufficient reasons; or but whether in this particular circumstances of the case, the hospital concerned is ready and able to provide ade- • although the treatment was available at a general quate facilities, expertise and treatment to the patient.” hospital, it was not available within a reasonable period considering the urgency of the treatment; or Applying the above test, the learned judicial commissioner came to the conclusion that the plaintiff • the treatment at the government hospital, though had not produced any evidence to satisfy him that the available, was grossly inadequate. state of affairs that existed in the Teluk Intan District If the court was not satisfied that the plaintiff Hospital gave rise to any apprehension such as that was justified in seeking treatment at a private hospital, treatment would not be given. Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 9
  • 10. In the case of Chong Chee Khong & Anor v Ng Yeow Hin [1997] 5 MLJ 786, the reason the first plaintiff went to Tawakal Hospital where he expended a MORE EVENTS sum of RM15,429.00 was because University Hospital did not attend to an injury to his right leg. Yet, he did Xmas Kringle not provide any report or letter from Tawakal Hospital to show that such was indeed the case. A mere asser- 2011 tion without documentary evidence will result in the court rejecting this claim totally. In the case of Balbir Singh A/L Chanan Singh v Thirunaugarasu A/L Muthusamy and Anor, 2010 MLJU 530 the High Court held, it is be- yond comprehension that the appellant could expect to be awarded fully the total amount incurred for his treat- ment at Hospital Fatimah when his initial admission and subsequent treatment at Hospital Ipoh had involved the internal fixation of his fractures. On 20.9.1999 he dis- charged himself at his own risk after which he chose to be admitted to Hospital Fatimah where he was merely put on physiotherapy exercises to increase the range of movements in his knee joints. There was no record of any other medical treatment given to him at Hospital Fatimah. There was no evidence that the physiotherapy treatment at Hospital Fatimah was not available or ade- The JHJ Family posing for a group photo after receiving pre- quate at Hospital Ipoh. The Sessions Court Judge had sents from their secret Santas. not erred in awarding 1/3 of the whole. “A mere assertion without documen- tary evidence will result in the court rejecting this claim totally…” The above cases have clearly shown to us that if there is credible and reasonable grounds for a person to incur medical treatment at a private hospital, then the court will award the full amount of cost that was spent in private hospitals. Otherwise the court will only award 1/3 of the total costs of medical expenses spent in private hospitals. The look of sheer “joy” when receiving their gifts! By G. Kumaresan kumaresan@jhj.com.my WE CARE T’was also the season for birthdays. Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 10
  • 11. JHJ’s Expanded Office Legal Cauldron 1 of 2012 | 11
  • 12. WE CARE Kuala Lumpur . Petaling Jaya . Kota Bharu . Melaka This is a publication produced by the JHJ Knowledge Department. For any inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact us: T: 03-2096 1478 | F: 03-2096 1480 | E: kd@jhj.com.my | W: www.jhj.com.my Publisher: Messrs Jayadeep Hari & Jamil, Suite 2.03 (2nd Floor), Block A, Plaza Damansara, Bukit Damansara, 50490 KL. Printers: Pressworks Enterprise, No 20, Jalan Usaha Satu 25/2A, 40400 Shah Alam.