Man, 29, undergoes MRI at S'pore private hospital, wakes up to find 2cm burn on left arm, makes police report

A 29-year-old man in Singapore, who fractured his right arm in a fall on Jun. 5, was referred to Farrer Park Hospital for a Magnetic Resonance Imagery (MRI) scan to confirm the diagnosis.

But after being sedated for the MRI procedure, he woke up with a 2cm burn injury on his left arm.

The man, surnamed Chee, is now asking for compensation of S$10,000 from the hospital, as the burn injury has affected his sleep and well-being.

Fractured arm in fall

Chee, a Malaysian who works as an IT support technician in Singapore, told Mothership that he slipped and fell while heading to work on Jun. 5 morning.

As there was pain in his right arm, Chee went for an X-ray at a nearby general practitioner clinic.

Referred to specialist

However, the images were not sufficiently clear, so the doctor referred Chee to a specialist to confirm the diagnosis of a fracture.

Chee then visited an orthopaedic specialist at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, who reviewed the X-ray images and recommended that Chee go for an MRI scan.

He was transferred to Farrer Park Hospital at about 6pm and hospitalised for one night as the MRI was initially scheduled on Jun. 6 at 8am.

Sedated for MRI procedure

However, when Chee was briefed on the procedure at 8am, radiology staff told him he needed to keep his right arm straight during the scan. He said he was not told this the earlier day.

When Chee replied that he could not straighten his arm owing to the fall, he was recommended to undergo sedation.

Chee's MRI was rescheduled to around 2pm as he needed to fast for six hours before the sedation.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have eaten breakfast at the hospital that morning," said Chee.

That afternoon, Chee was fully sedated for the MRI.

He said that he "followed all the instructions given by the radiology staff" before he went under.

Woke up to pain

After the procedure, Chee woke up and felt an unusual pain in his left arm, according to an incident report shared by the hospital with Chee.

Chee initially thought it was from the position he was instructed to take for the procedure, with his body slightly tilted to the left and a metal plate placed on his injured right elbow.

But when the pain worsened and felt more like a burning sensation, Chee asked for a nurse to take a closer look.

They discovered that a blister had formed on the back of Chee's left arm.

It was only three hours later that nurses applied topical cream as pain relief for the burn, Chee said.

When he pressed staff for an explanation for the burn injury, they told him they were not sure how it happened.

Chee requested his doctor to report the incident to the hospital.

Sleep affected

Chee was discharged on Jun. 7 and given one month of MC.

However, the burn injury has affected Chee's sleep as it hurts when he lies on it.

His fractured right arm has also been put in a cast and is still in pain.

"I can't lean on either side," Chee said.

He said that in the week following his discharge, he would wake up roughly every hour from the discomfort.

As a result, he needed his brother's help to take a shower.

Chee has since requested the hospital to assume full liability for the burn injury, including associated medical costs and scar treatment expenses.

Based on pictures provided by Chee, the burn injury appeared to be roughly 2cm across in diameter.

Seeking compensation

Additionally, Chee has asked for S$10,000 in compensation due to the impact on his sleep and well-being.

"I went to the hospital to get my fractured arm treated, but came out with an additional burn injury," said Chee.

No separate bill for burn injury

On Jun. 10, Chee returned to Farrer Park Hospital for treatment and also provided his account of the burn incident.

At that point, he was told that investigations were ongoing.

He said he has not received an update on what caused the injury yet.

Chee has also faced inconvenience in making an insurance claim for his arm fracture, as the hospital did not accede to his request to separate the bill for the burn injury from the medical expenses related to the fracture.

This will lead to delays in his insurance claim, Chee said, as further investigations will be required, given that the burn injury happened while he was in hospital.

The total bill for Chee's hospital stay came up to more than S$12,000, with about S$198 going to burn-related expenses.

A cover letter from Farrer Park Hospital written to facilitate Chee's insurance claim process indicated that "due to system limitations", the hospital is unable to provide two separate bills for Chee's admission.

Attached to the letter was a final itemised bill, which highlighted the specific charges incurred for the burn injury.

The letter did not explain how the burn injury was caused.

Hopes for accountability from hospital

Chee said he is sharing his story to demand more accountability from the hospital, adding that he felt "helpless" by their apparent "lack of urgency" for his case.

"I believe patients should never suffer additional injuries from medical procedures, let alone be dismissed or ignored when such harm occurs," he said.

On Jun. 17, Chee lodged a police report on the matter as he felt he had not received any concrete updates on his case.

"Since then, they have taken my case more seriously," he said.

Hospital's response

In response to Mothership's queries, a Farrer Park Hospital spokesperson said on Jun. 20 that the hospital is currently conducting a comprehensive review of this matter and, at this time, will not be providing further comments.

This article will be updated with details regarding the origin of Chee's injury to his left arm, when Mothership acquires the information.

MRI burns appears rare

A cursory search online revealed that thermal burns are a rare complication from MRI scans, although they have been documented in medical articles worldwide.

In December 2023, a toddler was left with a second-degree burn on her leg following a routine MRI at a hospital in Sydney, 7News reported.

No media reports on similar incidents in Singapore could be found online.

Top image courtesy of Chee