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Published on December 21, 2007

The ruling was the second victory for Jachapat Pongtheeramit in a nine-year legal battle over the treatment of her daughter Nattamon by Khon Kaen Ram Hospital and case doctor Dr Tassanee Kowitsomboon in 1998.

The Appeal Court agreed with the lower court that the hospital and doctor were responsible for Nattamon Pongtheeramit suffering brain damage.

Judges ordered them to pay Jachapat and her husband Boonyasith Bt700,000 to cover expenses incurred for the baby's treatment and Bt80,000 for her funeral expenses.

The lower court ordered the defendants to pay Bt1.58 million plus 7.5 per cent interest calculated from December 29, 1998 - the day the lawsuit was filed - until full payment was made, plus the plaintiffs' legal fees.

Jachapat, who continued her fight for justice even after her daughter, nicknamed "Boobu", died on October 16, 2002, said she was pleased with the Appeal Court's ruling.

Her family had never been concerned about the money but wanted the hospital to admit that it had made a mistake, she said.

She said the case would not have been pursued this far if the hospital had just taken care of them when the incident occurred, adding that every visit to court reminded her of the pain of losing her daughter.

Boobu was born at the hospital on January 5, 1998, weighing 2.9 kilograms. She developed jaundice after three days and underwent two days of light therapy before being discharged on January 10.

However the baby developed jaundice again two days later, so Jachapat took her to the hospital for treatment and left the child with hospital staff as she was not allowed to stay after visiting hours ended at 9pm.

Jachapat said she called the hospital three times that night to check on the baby's condition, and each time the staff replied the baby was all right and said she should speak to a doctor.

At 7am on January 13, the hospital alerted Jachapat that Boobu's jaundice had become so severe that she needed a blood transfusion. The hospital performed the transfusion at 10am and gave her more blood afterwards.

Boobu's lung started bleeding that evening, but she was saved by the on-duty doctor. The baby was kept at hospital for another 16 days before she was discharged.

A few months later, Jachapat noticed that Boobu had a weak neck and her physical development was not the same as her peers. She took the baby back to Khon Kaen Ram Hospital, but they were unable to improve her condition.

After visits to several other hospitals later, Jachapat took her baby to Ramathibodi Hospital in Bangkok, where she was told that the Boobu had suffered from a type of jaundice that required treatment with immediate blood transfusion. However, Boobu had been left too long before receiving her blood transfusion, which had affected her brain's development.

 The Nation

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