Pappa W/O Veeramuthu v NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HEALTH SERVICES GROUP PTE. LTD.
Key facts
| Court | High Court (General Division) |
|---|---|
| Decided | |
| Judge | Hri Kumar Nair |
| Charges / claim | Tort |
| Counsel | K&L Gates Straits Law LLC, Legal Clinic LLC, Melissa Er, Palaniappan Sundararaj, Ranita Yogeeswaran, Vanessa Yong |
Source: [2023] SGHC 70, High Court (General Division), decided — eLitigation. Updated .
Catchwords
Practice Areas
Judges (1)
Counsel (6)
Case Significance
Pappa w/o Veeramuthu v National University Health Services Group Pte Ltd [2023] SGHC 70 was decided by Hri Kumar Nair J in the General Division of the High Court, District Court Appeal No 39 of 2022, heard on 22 February 2023 with judgment delivered on 29 March 2023. Mdm Pappa, aged 80, fell and fractured her other leg on 10 April 2017 while recovering from surgery on her broken right leg at Jurong Community Hospital, which is owned and managed by the respondent, and sued in negligence for breach of duty. After a three-day trial in DC/DC 890/2020 the District Judge dismissed her claim; on appeal, Hri Kumar Nair J allowed the appeal.
[2023] SGHC 70 explained
Pappa W/O Veeramuthu v NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HEALTH SERVICES GROUP PTE. LTD. ([2023] SGHC 70) is a Singapore judgment decided by the High Court (General Division) on 29 March 2023. It is categorised under Tort. It is a recent decision; within this corpus no later judgment has cited it yet. This page summarises what the reported decision covers and links the primary sources — the full judgment, the statutes it cites, and the other cases it engages with — so the decision can be read in context. It is reference information, not legal advice, and it does not state the outcome or any holding beyond what the official judgment records.
What is [2023] SGHC 70 about?
Pappa W/O Veeramuthu v NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HEALTH SERVICES GROUP PTE. LTD. ([2023] SGHC 70) is a High Court (General Division) decision from 2023. Its published catchwords are “Tort — Negligence — Breach of duty”, which indicate the subject matter the judgment addresses. The full reasoning and orders are in the judgment itself, linked below.
Summary
Pappa w/o Veeramuthu, an 80-year-old rehabilitation patient, sued National University Health Services Group Pte Ltd in negligence after she fell and fractured her leg while staying at Jurong Community Hospital. A District Judge had dismissed her claim, and she appealed. The High Court allowed the appeal, finding that the hospital had breached its duty of care by allowing her to remain seated despite her pain and by not placing the call bell within her reach, and directed further hearing on contributory negligence and costs.
What was the outcome of Pappa w/o Veeramuthu v National University Health Services Group [2023] SGHC 70?
Hri Kumar Nair J allowed Mdm Pappa's appeal. The 80-year-old had fallen and fractured her leg while recovering at Jurong Community Hospital, and the District Judge had dismissed her negligence claim after a three-day trial before the High Court reversed that decision on 29 March 2023.
What happened to Mdm Pappa at Jurong Community Hospital ([2023] SGHC 70)?
On 10 April 2017, while recovering from surgery on her broken right leg at Jurong Community Hospital, 80-year-old Mdm Pappa w/o Veeramuthu fell and fractured her other leg. She sued the hospital's owner, National University Health Services Group, in negligence for breach of duty.
Cases Cited (1)
Related cases
Other Singapore judgments involving the same parties or counsel.
Referenced in
Legal concepts & references
Judgment
Read the full judgment on the official Singapore Courts portal.
Read on eLitigationSource: eLitigation ([2023] SGHC 70)