A man in his 60s who received a summary order for manslaughter... ‘Not guilty’ after requesting formal trial

Suspected of injuring another patient by knocking him over in the hospital hallway
Request for formal trial on summary order of fine of 3 million won
Court: “It violates the laws of physics… does not recognize causal relationship”

A woman in her 60s who was accused of colliding with and injuring another patient who was approaching her at the hospital was found not guilty after requesting a formal trial. On the 6th of last month, the Ulsan District Court found Mr. A, in his 60s, not guilty on charges of manslaughter.

Mr. A was accused of tripping and injuring B, a woman in her 70s, in the hallway of a local university hospital in 2023. The incident occurred when Mr. A, who was leaving the hospital treatment room, passed by Mr. B who was approaching him. Immediately after the two men crossed paths, Mr. B fell and suffered 12 weeks of displacement. Mr. B filed a complaint against Mr. A, saying that he had no choice but to fall after being hit by Mr. A's elbow.

Mr. A completely denied the charges. He claimed that he was aware of Mr. B's presence when leaving the treatment room and that he moved out of the way while leaving a certain space. At the same time, Mr. A emphasized that when looking at the CCTV footage, it appears that Mr. B lost his balance and fell.

The police believed that Mr. A's charges were acknowledged. Since Mr. B was old and could easily lose his balance and fall, the main reason was that Mr. A had a duty to walk safely to prevent Mr. B from getting hurt, such as looking ahead and keeping an appropriate distance.

The prosecution also found Mr. A to be at fault and sentenced him to a summary indictment with a fine of 3 million won. A summary order was then issued by the court, but Mr. A objected and requested a formal trial.

In the end, the court found Mr. A not guilty. First, the court pointed out the credibility of Mr. B’s statement. Mr. B visited the emergency room immediately after falling and told the doctor, “I tripped and fell,” and during the first police investigation, he also answered, “I’m not sure if I tripped or hit,” but he changed his statement during the second investigation, raising questions about its credibility.

The CCTV analysis results requested from the National Institute of Forensic Science also served as important evidence. The National Forensic Service, which analyzed the video, responded, “It is possible that the two people were in contact, but it is difficult to determine whether there was contact due to the blind angle caused by the camera’s shooting angle.”

In addition, the court said, “The victim fell to the right right after the defendant’s right elbow crossed the victim’s right arm, and if the impact caused her to fall, it is in accordance with the laws of physics that she would have fallen to the left, not the right.” At the same time, he explained the reason for the not guilty verdict, saying, “Even if the two people collided, we took into account the fact that the part of the victim’s body that the defendant’s elbow hit was the arm, and that it was not a part that caused a large impact to the body.”

Lawyer Song Min-ye of the Daeryun Law Firm, who represented Mr. A, said, “There was no evidence to clearly prove that the two people collided, and even if their bodies brushed, it is excessive to impose a duty of care on Mr. A to prevent Mr. B from losing his balance and falling and getting hurt.” Attorney Song also added, “During the trial, we requested a CCTV analysis review by a professional agency, and through the results, we were able to obtain a not guilty verdict, emphasizing that a causal relationship was not proven between Mr. A’s actions and Mr. B’s injuries.”

Digital Content Team

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A man in his 60s received a summary order for manslaughter... ‘Not guilty’ after requesting formal trial (Shortcut)