UK case forces Hong Kong doctors to consider changing patient-info policies
HK doctors to look at policies after British lawsuit challenges right to judge how and when to outline the dangers of medical procedures
The Hong Kong Medical Association is to discuss changing how patients are told of the risks involved in treatment in the wake of a British court case the body's president described as "turning the medical world upside down".
Scottish mother Nadine Montgomery, 40, whose son Sam was born with serious disabilities, claimed in a lawsuit that her doctor had neglected to give her proper advice in 1999 that a caesarean section could be safer than a traditional birth.
The 16-year fight for compensation had been rejected by a court on two previous occasions until it was finally upheld by the Supreme Court on March 11. Montgomery was awarded £5.25 million (HK$63 million) compensation from the Lanarkshire public health board, under the National Health Service.
"The ruling in this case is groundbreaking. It is applicable in Hong Kong and will have huge implications for local patients' rights," said lawyer Monita Lau Wai-yee, who specialises in medical lawsuits.
"It means that doctors should face up to the fact that the patient's right to know should not be decided by the doctors."
Montgomery, who has a small build and diabetes, said her doctor failed to alert her to the risk of complications from a traditional birth to a larger-than-average baby. These include shoulder dystocia, where the baby becomes stuck - a condition she experienced in her delivery.