Busan Damages Attorney Case | Victim of a Medical Accident Obtains a Favorable Judgment in a Claim for Damages

The client had a mother in her seventies.

The mother, who was suffering from a brain disease, had physical difficulties and had long received rehabilitation treatment at a convalescent hospital.

The client and other family members visited the hospital every week to check on the mother's condition.

However, as COVID-19 spread, hospital visits were entirely restricted, and the client was able to check on the mother's condition only by telephone.

Then, one day, the client received a telephone call from a hospital staff member.

The mother was showing symptoms of pneumonia, and although treatment had been attempted, her condition was gradually worsening, so a transfer to another higher-level hospital was necessary.

In response, the client immediately arranged for a hospital and began the transfer.

However, in that process, the client witnessed a shocking situation.

One of the mother's legs was severely swollen, and bedsores were found across her body.

The medical staff, who immediately conducted an examination, explained that a fracture had occurred in the mother's leg and that her condition was serious because the area was filled with abscesses.

Surgery began at once, but the degree of the abscesses was so severe that proper removal was not possible.

In response, the client transferred the mother to a university hospital in another region, but received only the answer that there was no treatment that could be administered immediately.

In the end, the client's mother was receiving only antibiotic treatment, and the prolonged administration of antibiotics caused an abnormality in her blood levels as well.

Because of this, the client and the mother had to change hospitals again for an examination and had to endure suffering from the side effects.

The client, asserting that the hospital's negligence was clear, decided to proceed with a related claim for damages.

Act on Remedies for Injuries from Medical Malpractice and Mediation of Medical Disputes, Article 2 (Definitions) The terms used in this Act are defined as follows.
1. The term "medical accident" means a case in which harm to the life, body, or property of a person arises from acts performed by a health care provider (including persons whose acts are permitted under the proviso of Article 27 (1) of the Medical Service Act or the proviso of Article 23 (1) of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act) with respect to a patient, such as diagnosis, examination, treatment, and the prescription and preparation of medicines.

Civil Act (Civil Code), Article 750 (Content of a Tort)
A person who causes harm to another by an unlawful act committed intentionally or negligently is liable to compensate for the harm.

"A physician, who is responsible for human life and health, is required, in light of the nature of that duty, to exercise the best care necessary to prevent danger. Accordingly, a physician must pay sufficient attention to the patient's condition and, based on the medical knowledge available at the time of treatment, must consider all circumstances, including the effects and side effects of the treatment method, and provide treatment with the utmost care. The standard of this duty of care is to be determined by the level of medical practice according to so-called clinical medicine at the time of treatment; however, that medical level is to be understood as the level normatively required, and the specific circumstances of the particular physician or medical institution are not to be considered. In addition, in a claim for damages arising from a breach of the duty of care in a medical act, where the injured party proves an act involving medical negligence based on the common sense of an ordinary person committed during a series of medical acts, and proves that no cause other than that series of medical acts could have intervened between the act and the result, the causal relationship between the medical negligence and the result may be presumed, so that the burden of proof should be eased to allow liability for damages to be imposed." (See Supreme Court Judgment of January 21, 2000, 98Da50586; Supreme Court Judgment of January 27, 2012, 2009Da82275, 82282; and others).

The convalescent hospital that was sued took the position that it was not responsible for the mother's fracture.

Its position was that the fracture itself had not occurred at its hospital.

However, the client could not accept this.

This was because, in the examination conducted immediately after the transfer to the higher-level hospital, the mother was diagnosed with a fracture and the client heard the physician's opinion that the area was filled with abscesses.

An abscess so severe that even removal was difficult could not have formed in just a few hours.

The Busan attorney emphasized that these side effects had occurred because the hospital had not provided proper medical care.

As a result of the investigation of the case, the hospital nurse had confirmed that the mother's leg was swollen about one day before she was transferred to the general hospital.

The nurse asked the mother whether she had fallen on her bottom, but the mother said that she had not.

The hospital presented this conversation as evidence and argued that there were no circumstances to suspect that the mother had fallen or suffered a fracture.

However, this argument was also incorrect.

The client's mother was a dementia patient.

It was highly likely that, even when feeling discomfort from pain, she was unable to properly express her condition.

In addition, because the client's mother could not use one side of her body well due to her underlying condition, her likelihood of falling or having a fall was much higher than that of other patients, and the hospital was also aware of this.

However, even after seeing the mother's swollen leg, the hospital's medical staff merely asked questions and did not take additional measures such as an examination.

The Busan damages attorney pointed out this negligence by the medical staff and emphasized that they bore responsibility for worsening the mother's health.

When a person becomes involved in a medical accident, the physical and psychological harm to the patient and the patient's family can be considerable.

For this reason, many patients consider filing a lawsuit to recover from the harm.

However, the opposing party in such litigation is in many cases a medical professional.

Because ordinary patients generally do not have specialized knowledge related to medicine, they may be placed at a disadvantage from the start of the trial.

Daeryun Law Firm, to which the damages attorney belongs, provides one-stop legal services through a team of attorneys focused on medical disputes.

In addition, with the help of a medical advisory group of former hospital practitioners who hold a range of medical knowledge and clinical experience, the firm can conduct litigation smoothly.

If you have become a victim of a medical accident and are considering litigation, please consider visiting Daeryun Law Firm, to which the Busan damages attorney belongs.