The role of doctors is often considered as almost sacred in many societies. However, they are after all, still human, and humans would be prone to errors. Here are five medical malpractice cases that spans across various medical fields. 1. Cancer/End-of-Life Care – Susan Lim Susan Lim was a larger than life figure in the 1990s — she was the first surgeon in Singapore, and only the second female surgeon in the world, to perform a successful liver transplant. The fall from grace came when she was found guilty of overcharging Pangiran Anak Hajah Damit, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah’s sister-in-law, for cancer of the left breast. Sultan Bolkiah, the ruler of Brunei, is the second-richest royal in the world. The bill received in 2007 was slightly more than $26 million – a price that was for palliative, end-of-life care, and not surgery, which could have warranted such prices. After a complaint was lodged with the Ministry of Health by their Bruneian counterparts, Dr Lim first reduced the bill to $12.6 million, and later on to $3.3 million. However, the damage was done by then, and her licence to practice was revoked for three years by the Singapore Medical Council for her misconduct in charging "grossly excessive" fees. The London General Medical Council (GMC) also began investigations over her conviction in Singapore — Dr Lim faces the possibility of being struck off the register there if found guilty. 2. Organ transplant – Paolo Macchiarini of Karolinska Institute When Paolo Macchiarini, of the prestigious Swedish Karolinska Institute, the decision making body for recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, performed the world's first synthetic organ transplant, replacing a patient's trachea with a plastic tube, it heralded the transformation of organ transplantation. Patients would no longer have to wait for a compatible donor organ from a recently deceased individual – which also carries the risk of organ rejection. Organs can be artificially produced, manufactured quickly, safely, and customised for each patient. Unfortunately, five years later, seven out of nine patients who had undergone the transplant passed on. The two remaining survivors, now hospitalised, replaced their synthetic tracheas with a windpipe from a donor. Despite this appalling failure, his misdeeds – which included the failure to engage in pre-clinical animal trials before human trials – were only uncovered after Bosse Lindquist, an investigative reporter, did a documentary study on his questionable ethics, entitled ‘The Experiments’. 3. Gynaecology – Johns Hopkins Hospital This case made history with the largest payout for medical malpractice, amounting to almost S$75 million. After a state legislated cap on payouts was applied, the plaintiffs would still receive almost S$40 million. The point of contention was that John Hopkins, one of the most prestigious hospitals in America, made parents Martinez and Fielding wait about two hours for an emergency Caesarean section. They argue that should the surgery be performed earlier, that their son, Enzo, would be a normal functioning two-year-old boy, instead of being severely and permanently mentally and physically disabled. The other more recent case involving this field was the case of Donald Cline, a fertility doctor who inseminated his patients 50 times – of which nine are confirmed via DNA testing – with his own sperm while declaring that it originated from a medical student. 4. Plastic surgery – Reinaldo Silvestre This is an unbelievable case that sounds akin to supermarket tabloid fiction, yet the story of Reinaldo Silvestre, the man who pretended to be a doctor and performed plastic surgery on patients with animal anaesthetic, is disturbingly true. Those affected included a former runner-up Mr. Universe, Alexander Baez, who went under the knife for pec implants hoping to enhance his body building career, but instead woke up with breast implants. Others who were unfortunate enough to be his “patient” included Jeannette Bernal, whose breasts were disfigured after five botched surgeries. 5. Psychiatrist – Margaret Bean-Bayog, Harvard University Paul Lozano was a Harvard medical student who sought help for depression from Dr. Margaret Bean-Bayog, a Harvard psychiatrist. Five years later, shortly after she terminated his treatment, Lozano committed suicide. Investigations found that Margaret diagnosed Lozano with a deprived childhood, and prescribed "reparenting," a form of therapy in which a patient relives his growing up. However, the methods she used were highly questionable. Initial treatment included reading children's stories to Lozano, calling him "Baby" and telling him to address her as "Mother." Later on, she encouraged him to break with his real family, and the relationship turned sexual. The malpractice allegation was not contested by Margaret’s insurance, and was settled out-of-court for $1 million. When authorities summoned Margaret for questioning she surrendered her medical license. Source
