THE parents of a teenage leukaemia patient, who died five days after he
was admitted into KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH), are suing
the hospital and the attending doctor for alleged negligence.
The couple are arguing that their son Cao Yuanchi, then 14, should have
received appropriate treatment sooner, given how gravely ill he was.
The hospital and Dr Chan Mui Yoke, a senior consultant, are disputing the claims and mounting their defence.
Yuanchi, a student at Raffles Institution (RI), was admitted to the
hospital on Jan 13 last year with bruises on his right ankle and knee,
rashes and fever.
The diagnosis was confirmed two days later: He had a rare form of blood
cancer known as acute promyeloctic leukaemia (APL), and was slated for
chemotherapy and a treatment using all-trans retinoic acid (Atra).
But the treatment plan, discussed with his parents on Jan 15 along with
the diagnosis, could not start immediately, because it emerged that the
boy was also battling a bacterial infection.
That had to be treated first. The treatment for his leukaemia was thus pushed back to Jan 19.
At the meeting with the doctor, his parents were told that Yuanchi faced a high risk of bleeding because of the APL.
The boy never got started on chemotherapy on Jan 19 as scheduled. He
died the day before, from massive bleeding in the brain caused by the
leukaemia.
His parents, Mr Cao Shengfa and Madam Ma Wenying, are now claiming that
they were not informed of the risks tied to withholding treatment for
APL for four days while their son was treated for the bacterial
infection.
They said in court papers filed that the tests done by the hospital
should have made it clear that their son was a high- risk patient and
should have been appropriately treated.
At issue in the case, therefore, is whether the teenager could have been treated earlier and his death avoided.
Mr Cao and Madam Ma claimed through their lawyer Lee Mong Jen that the
standard textbook treatment for APL would have involved using Atra.
The hospital and Dr Chan's position is that the case was a rare one and presented a number of challenges that had to be managed.
The hospital, through its lawyer Kuah Boon Theng, said Dr Chan had taken
into account the risk factors associated with the treatment, in setting
up the treatment plan for Yuanchi.
Dr Chan, according to defence papers filed by her lawyer Lek Siang
Pheng, has 15 years of experience with childhood cancers, and had
advised the parents of the risks.
But Mr Cao and Madam Ma countered that the defendants did not arrange
for the Atra treatment, the standard medical treatment, until a private
paediatric oncologist the couple hired for a second opinion asked for it
on Jan 18.
The couple are seeking some $1.8 million in damages, including the loss of dependency claims.
They pointed out that their only son was a scholarship student at RI and
would have eventually supported them as a successful professional.
A pre-trial conference was held at the High Court on Monday.
The hospital's head of paediatric haematology and oncology, Associate
Professor Tan Ah Moy, said yesterday that all parties are considering
how the matter can be amicably resolved. Talks are on.
Prof Tan, a senior consultant at the hospital, described APL as a rare, serious form of cancer which needs urgent tending to.
But she added: 'Chemotherapy for all forms of leukaemia has its inherent
risks. So it's important to stabilise the patient's condition before
starting treatment.'
Source: Straits Times
the parents out to make some money while in S'pore...i hope the judge throw out the case...
Can a person with a rare cancer study as well as before ?
Can the son complete the study with outstanding results with the rare cancer ?
Can a person with a rare cancer work as well as a person without the rare
cancer ?
There are too many uncertainties and the claim for such high damages is not
unlikely to succeed.
Maybe the govt can sue the parents for breach of contract? Never complete scholarship.
potential loss of income is very hard to ascertain . just like the hwachong scholar who went York university and get into trouble of child porn
In fact it mades one realise the importance of insurance for unexpected premature death
the problem is ,is this very common in government hospital that they usually delay the treatment ,as the doctor usual response is "follow up within 3 weeks" ?
even for malignant case
i feel sorry for the child and the family but have to get to the bottom of matter at who is at fault ..
some of the rare cancer were treated slowly i can understand due to the fact that singapore have not encountered treatment of this kind of cancer before .I think private hospital is still the best choice when such life threatening illness at hand
Originally posted by sansiro77:the parents out to make some money while in S'pore...i hope the judge throw out the case...
hello, stop being a bitch. the guy who died was a good friend of mine and i know the parents. their intention was to stay in Singapore for good, thought I don't know if they've changed their plans after the death of their son. there is NO FREAKING NEED to make deragatory statements without any proof.
Originally posted by Junyang700:Maybe the govt can sue the parents for breach of contract? Never complete scholarship.
it was the Edusave Scholarship for Independent Schools, dear. it's awarded for outstanding performance in the PSLE. there was no contract to begin with. even if there was, the death of the party receiving the scholarship would not amount to a breach of contract. check your facts before talking rubbish. thanks.
i think that the parents is trying to claim some money over this incident. being mercenary as expected.
people come and go, with some dying earlier than the rest.
millions of people die from cancer every year, so what makes him so special for a multimillion dollar claim?
usually, people who command that kind of money are the ones who have already "made it", that is, they are already top professionals in their field, and have established some sort of a reputation.
this kid, even though he's a RI scholar, has not proved anything about his mettle.
what qualifications does he has to back up the compensation claim? PSLE?
he has not taken O lvl, or the equivilent for IP schools, A lvls nor secure a degree.
his future is uncertain, just like any tom dick and harry of his age.
so what if he's bright now, we have all seen late bloomers at some point of our life, and there are also people who flop in adulthood despite their achievements in childhood.
for an average life insurance, you are only paid 100k upon death. and from observations rgding traffic accidents against students, the court usually order compensation of arnd 100k max for the victim.
so does the parents think that just because their son is in RI, he's worth over 1 million, many times over the life of a non-elite school student?
Originally posted by syncopation_music:some of the rare cancer were treated slowly i can understand due to the fact that singapore have not encountered treatment of this kind of cancer before .I think private hospital is still the best choice when such life threatening illness at hand
leukemia is not a rare cancer.
Originally posted by wtv:hello, stop being a bitch. the guy who died was a good friend of mine and i know the parents. their intention was to stay in Singapore for good, thought I don't know if they've changed their plans after the death of their son. there is NO FREAKING NEED to make deragatory statements without any proof.
ya, i agree that ppl shdn't make degradatory statements.
but who are you to say that you know the parents' intentions? Did you go for a "tea session" where they lay out and explain their intentions to you? just being the friend of the person doesn't make you the subject expert on his parents' intentions.
I have PR friends who were convinced that he's settling in spore for good. then one fine day, his family decided to uproot and move to the US.
S$1.8m hiaK kua li buey ki
Originally posted by deathmaster:ya, i agree that ppl shdn't make degradatory statements.
but who are you to say that you know the parents' intentions? Did you go for a "tea session" where they lay out and explain their intentions to you? just being the friend of the person doesn't make you the subject expert on his parents' intentions.
I have PR friends who were convinced that he's settling in spore for good. then one fine day, his family decided to uproot and move to the US.
paiseh, i typed wrongly - it should be "derogatory".
yes, i do not deny that i might not know their true intentions, but i think you have misinterpreted the whole issue totally. you mentioned in an earlier post that millions of people die of cancer every year, so there is nothing that makes my friend so special. well, there is. in this case, the parents are not suing the hospital and the doctor not because he died, but because they feel that the doctor (and to a certain extent, the hospital) did not arrange the right treatment for their son, leading to his eventual death. in other words, they are of the opinion that it is malpractice on the part of the doctor. if he had died even after proper treatment was provided, im sure that they would not have sued the hospital and the doctor. i hope you can see the situation in a much clearer light now, and thanks for giving me an opportunity to clarify things.
Originally posted by wtv:it was the Edusave Scholarship for Independent Schools, dear. it's awarded for outstanding performance in the PSLE. there was no contract to begin with. even if there was, the death of the party receiving the scholarship would not amount to a breach of contract. check your facts before talking rubbish. thanks.
Aiya, he was more on sarcastic remarks ok?
Bacteria infections have to be treated before chemo else the son will be a goner too. Either the leukemia or the bacteria after Chemo gets him.
Originally posted by kenn3th:Bacteria infections have to be treated before chemo else the son will be a goner too. Either the leukemia or the bacteria after Chemo gets him.
exactly, wtv pls note.
there can be 3 cases:
1) he go straight for chemo inspite of bacterial infection. he die from chemo, as his body's immune system is wrecked up.
2) he go straight for chemo, but die from bacterial infection.
3) he gets treatment for bacterial infection, but die of leukemia.
in either of the 3 cases, you can argue for malpractice then, since the doctor is supposedly "delaying the administration of proper treatment"?
imo, this is just an unfortunate case where the boy is too weak to fight his illness, and thus cannot be entirely the fault of the hospital and doctor.
so what if the parents fail to win the lawsuit? Sue the school for sending the boy to OBS, which indirectly resulted in his death?
Originally posted by deathmaster:exactly, wtv pls note.
there can be 3 cases:
1) he go straight for chemo inspite of bacterial infection. he die from chemo, as his body's immune system is wrecked up.
2) he go straight for chemo, but die from bacterial infection.
3) he gets treatment for bacterial infection, but die of leukemia.
in either of the 3 cases, you can argue for malpractice then, since the doctor is supposedly "delaying the administration of proper treatment"?
imo, this is just an unfortunate case where the boy is too weak to fight his illness, and thus cannot be entirely the fault of the hospital and doctor.
so what if the parents fail to win the lawsuit? Sue the school for sending the boy to OBS, which indirectly resulted in his death?
well, i wonder who you're to say whether it is an "unfortunate case" or not, since it's obvious that you're not a medical professional.
typical money-grubbing PRC people............
child mati already still wanna use his corpse to make money...............
hope case gets thrown out and PRC couple get thrown out of S'pore also.............
Originally posted by wtv:well, i wonder who you're to say whether it is an "unfortunate case" or not, since it's obvious that you're not a medical professional.
it is also well obvious that if one dies the day before his scheduled treatment, it can be described as an "unfortunate case"
as they say...........
'' when your number is up.............your number is up.................''
no need to feel sad at all..................no one has really ever died.............