The government today admitted liability in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur for the death of former Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL) Outpatient Department head, Dr Suzanne Thomas, four years ago.

Suzanne, a retired doctor, was the wife of Stanley Isaacs, the former head of prosecution at the Attorney-General's Chambers.

Her sudden death on Christmas Day in 2014 resulted in sorrow for Stanley, their two children and Suzanne's mother, who had filed the claim of negligence and breach of contract against the government.

This government's admission of liability came after lawyer Manmohan Singh Dhillon, for Stanley, read out several paragraphs from an admission of liability statement before Judicial Commissioner Aliza Sulaiman, which senior federal counsel Norhafizza Azizan confirmed.

The widower filed the suit in 2016 against HKL, nine doctors and three nurses and the government for negligently causing the death of the 63-year-old Suzanne.

Manmohan said Suzanne's death could have been avoided, if not for the callous and reckless conduct of the defendants, especially one of the doctors named in the suit.

Suzanne first sought treatment at a private hospital in Petaling Jaya, where it was diagnosed that she had septic arthritis. As a result, she had sentimental and clinical reasons to go to HKL on Dec 20, 2014.

Private hospital diagnosis ignored

The lawyer said a HKL medical officer and one of the doctors, who was mainly blamed for the incident, refused to consider the diagnosis of septic arthritis made at the private hospital.

As a result, HKL diagnosed her to have osteoarthritis and as such the doctors decided little need to be done over the weekend compared, to the diagnosis of septic arthritis.

"The result was a quiet weekend for the doctors and a sorrowful Christmas for the family, for the patient died on Dec 25, 2014," the statement read by the lawyer states.

"The defendants had raised a false defence supported by intentional delayed and embellished entries made in the medical records to pull wool over the eyes of justice."

Stanley is claiming general and aggravated damages, along with special damages in excess of RM104,000.

In his statement of claim, Stanley said Suzanne was brought in conscious on Dec 20, 2014, but her condition turned worse and she remained semi-conscious, with a headache and vomiting.

She was transferred to the intensive care unit that same evening, on Dec 21, before passing away four days later.

Stanley listed several negligence and contractual violations and among them included giving her two types of medication which she is intolerant with, despite Suzanne giving them warnings about the medications.

After the statement was read, and the senior federal counsel admitting to portions of it, the judge fixed May 23 for hearing on the assessment of damages.

This came after Manmohan informed the court that he had to change portions of a witness statement and also, because that one of his witnesses is overseas at present.