Woman loses malpractice suit over legal technicality
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A woman's appeal against an earlier verdict on her civil lawsuit against a private Bangkok hospital was rejected yesterday on grounds that it was made after the 30-day legal deadline.
Preeyanant Lorsermwattana said that now that the Supreme Court had rejected her appeal, she would consider filing criminal complaints against the two doctors at Phaya Thai Hospital whom she holds responsible for complications at childbirth 23 years ago that left her son disabled. She said the other option would be to file a civil lawsuit against the Justice Ministry, which assigned her a lawyer but he missed the 30-day deadline, or to pursue criminal action based on a key National Human Rights Commission decision in 2008.
She said it was regretful that she had lost her 23-year battle against Phaya Thai Hospital over a legal technicality. “This is despite the fact that we have avoided using criminal action in this case,” she added.
Preeyanant had sued for Bt57 million from Prasit Pattana Co, which owns the hospital, Dr Yanyong Mangkhalawirach and Dr Santi Sutthiphinthawong, for disabilities caused to her son Phithakphong during delivery at the hospital.
She lost this case both through a general civil-lawsuit channel shortly after the childbirth and through a consumer-protection channel currently – a new process that began five years ago – on grounds of statute of limitations.
