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medico-legal battle The book contains such a brilliant exposition of the law on medical negligence that it should in time serve as a guide to both the medical and legal professions on the subject. In this case, R. A. F. Arseculeratne, who was Senior State Counsel at the time, sued Professor Priyani Soysa, Emeritus Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Colombo, for alleged professional negligence in the care of his daughter who died of a highly malignant and inevitably fatal brainstem tumour in June 1992. He filed the case in January 1993 claiming Rs. 5 million in damages from Professor Soysa, who had diagnosed rheumatic chorea as the child's illness. The first few chapters in the book deal with the relevant medical history of the child up to and after May 20, 1992, when the child was transferred to the care of another Consultant Paediatrician at Nawaloka Hospital. The next two chapters are devoted to explaining what rheumatic chorea and brainstem glioma are in laymen's terms. The rest of the book consists of chapters concerning judgments in the District Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Throughout the book the author has demonstrated his exceptional ability in dissecting the evidence of witnesses at the trial and declaring what is worthy of acceptance. The author discusses the points in favour of diagnosing rheumatic chorea in a suspected case. After extensive references to medical literature, including The Oxford Textbook of Medicine and a leading journal on paediatric neurology, he upholds the decision taken by Professor Soysa in diagnosing rheumatic chorea. Leading neurologist Dr. J. B. Pieris, who examined the patient at the instance of the plaintiff himself, agreed with Professor Soysa that the child had features of rheumatic chorea. Professor Lamabadusuriya, who succeeded Professor Soysa to the Chair of Paediatrics, took over the management of the child's illness on May 20, again at the instance of the plaintiff. The author contends that the latter too diagnosed rheumatic chorea till the report on the CT scan became available and thus Professor Soysa's peers were in agreement with her. The author examines the law relating to medical negligence in the light of several foreign judgments. After balancing what is for and against in this case, he reasons out why the defendant is not liable to pay damages. The District Court, however, in its lengthy judgment running into 211 pages found the defendant guilty of negligence and awarded the plaintiff the sum of Rs. 5 million as damages. Professor Goonaratna examines the judgment of the District Court with a fine-toothed comb and concludes by saying that "the sheer number of errors in the District Court judgment is staggering. Many of them are of crucial importance to the case. The names of the plaintiff, his daughter and expert witnesses are misspelt. The amount of damages claimed is entered wrongly….." When Professor Soysa appealed to the Court of Appeal, two judges heard the case. One of them confirmed the verdict of the District Court, while the other reduced the damages to Rs. 250,000. Counsel for the plaintiff-respondent accepted the lower figure while reserving the right to "agitate" for the higher sum if the case was to be reviewed by the Supreme Court. Professor Goonaratna discusses the two judgments of the Court of Appeal and analyses them systematically. His writings about the law have such an easy flow that any legal writer would be proud of his ability. Special leave to appeal to the Supreme Court was heard by a panel of three judges. The President of the panel gave judgment, refusing leave to appeal. The other two judges, however, allowed Professor Soysa leave to appeal. All three judgments are reported fully in the book, along with the author's comments. The appeal was ultimately heard in the Supreme Court by a trial-at-bar consisting of Dheeraratne J. Bandaranayaka J and Ismail J. They gave a unanimous judgment in favour of Professor Soysa. In addition, they ordered that costs in all three courts be paid to her, which she gracefully declined to accept. "This distinguished physician, researcher, teacher and doughty fighter for the rights of women and children, who would have saved the lives of tens of thousands of children from all parts of the country," in the words of the author of this book, received justice in the Supreme Court, after a lengthy and bruising legal battle. Professor Goonaratna's book is an excellent read and I recommend it not only to doctors, lawyers and medical and law students, but to all readers who will enjoy a book, authoritatively written in engaging diction. Environment
made easy With colourful, glossy covers, detailed sketches inside and loads of information on plants, trees, flowers, animals and humans, her books deal with issues the little ones from Grade 1 to 4 have to tackle under 'Environmental Studies'. Parents and other teachers are appreciative of Mrs. Piyadasa, herself a teacher with long years at St. Peter's College, Bambalapitiya because her initiatives can be taken as the first step in introducing English textbooks, written locally, on 'Environmental Studies' for the primary. While her books deal with wide and varied topics, there is also a moral behind some of the messages, an example being "Helping others" in Book 1. Themes like information, transportation and environmental issues are also developed in each book. A vital and timely addition is the chapter on the tsunami in Book 4. As one flips through the books, one wonders whether the title should be 'Environmental Studies' as this series offers much more. Better proof-reading to cut out the typographical errors would have enhanced the value of the books. |
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