Medical negligence lawyers in Kuala Lumpur

Start by asking the hospital for a copy of the complete medical record; both private and government hospitals must release it on request. Write down the key dates carefully, because time limits apply to every claim. Then have a lawyer make a preliminary assessment of the records and the events, so you know whether an expert review is worth pursuing.

It is the standard of care in medical negligence, accepted by the Federal Court in Foo Fio Na v Dr Soo Fook Mun [2007] 1 MLJ 593. A doctor is not negligent if the conduct matches a practice accepted as proper by a responsible body of medical opinion in the same field (Bolam), provided that opinion withstands logical analysis (Bolitho). It applies to diagnosis and treatment.

Yes. For diagnosis and treatment, the court applies Bolam with the Bolitho qualification. For the duty to disclose risks before treatment, the test is different: the approach in Rogers v Whitaker, which Malaysia adopted in Foo Fio Na. The question is whether the patient was told of the material risks, not simply whether other doctors would have said the same.

Section 6(1)(a) of the Limitation Act 1953 gives six years from the date the cause of action accrued. Section 6A, added by the Limitation (Amendment) Act 2018, allows three years from the date of knowledge (with a 15-year long-stop), but only for negligence claims not involving personal injuries, so it does not extend the time for a personal-injury medical negligence claim. Claims against government hospitals have extra notice requirements.