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Case 1

Mr. David Chiu, the claimant, went to defendant, Pathobiol Laboratories Ltd., a registered and accredited medical laboratory located in Hong Kong, for a urethral smear test. The urethral sample collection was administered by defendant Mr. Tony Leung, a medical laboratory technician, who had graduated from PolyU six months previously. According to the technician, he administered the urethral sample collection by inserting a cotton swab about a quarter-inch into Mr. Chiu's penis, with the claimant in a standing position. Following the completion of the first test, Mr. Chiu complained of feeling faint. The technician instructed him to sit down and rest. The technician did not attempt to examine Mr. Chiu, nor did he seek medical assistance. At this time, the receptionist, Miss Lucy Wong, entered the room to inform Mr. Leung that his next patient had arrived.

Approximately two to three minutes later, the technician asked Mr. Chiu if it was "Okay to go ahead" with a second sample collection and he replied "yes." The technician then proceeded to perform the collection a second time, following the same procedure as before. While this was being administered, Mr. Chiu fainted, striking his head on a metal blood pressure stand and on the tile-covered floor. Subsequently, he was taken to the Accident & Emergency Department at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, where he was admitted as a neurosurgery patient. As a result of this incident, Mr. Chiu claims he suffered a number of injuries including permanent loss of sense of smell and a partial loss of taste. Subsequently, he brought an action against the defendants charging them with professional negligence in the manner in which they had conducted the test.