Woman wins RM1m damages

A MOTHER of two, who was left emotionally shattered after doctors mistakenly removed her left breast, was awarded more than HK$2mil (RM984,000) in damages by the Hong Kong Court of First Instance on Monday. 

Child-minder Hoi Lai-chan, 45, was seeking up to HK$5mil (RM2.46mil) in the civil suit after the Hospital Authority admitted liability for the botched operation, which occurred more than nine years ago, reported the South China Morning Post. 

Justice Thomas Gall awarded Hoi only HK$2.07mil after finding that the level of psychological care and loss of earnings was not as high as estimated. 

The court had heard that Hoi contemplated suicide following the operation at the Tung Wah Eastern Hospital on Sept 14, 1993, but abandoned the notion when she thought of her children. 

Hoi also told the court that her relationship with her husband had suffered as a result of the surgery as she had been left with a low sex drive and feelings of worthlessness. 

Hoi had been told that doctors would only remove a fibroid lump or benign tumour in her left breast. But when she regained consciousness after the surgery, she was told her entire breast had been removed after doctors found the lump was malignant. 

Some six years after her operation, Hoi raised questions about the surgery and later discovered it was unnecessary as the tumour had been benign.