Medical Accident Consultation | A Case in Which We Assisted a Victim of Postoperative Complications and Damages of KRW 100 Million Were Acknowledged

Q. If a condition worsens after surgery, is it always a medical accident?

A. No. Not every postoperative complication immediately amounts to a medical accident.

However, where the medical staff overlooked foreseeable warning signs, or delayed appropriate additional examinations, treatment, or transfer to another hospital, it may be regarded as a medical accident caused by medical malpractice.

In such a case, it is necessary to review whether legal liability exists through a consultation.

Q. Can I be eligible for a medical accident consultation even if I was not properly given an explanation?

A. Yes. Medical staff have a duty to fully explain to the patient the risks and side effects of surgery and treatment, as well as the precautions to be observed during the recovery process.

If serious side effects or permanent disability were not explained, or if the consent process was carried out only as a formality, this may constitute a breach of the duty to explain, and a claim for damages may be possible.

Q. Is a consultation possible even if the evidence appears insufficient?

A. It is possible.

Even if the evidence appears insufficient at the outset, an attorney can establish the facts by accessing and collecting medical records, surgical records, nursing logs, examination results, and the like.

In addition, because negligence and causation can be supported through a medical expert appraisal, it is important to begin a consultation even before evidence has been secured.

Q. By when should I apply for a medical accident consultation?

A. Because a claim for damages is subject to a limitation period, it is advisable to receive a consultation promptly.

- Tort liability: within 3 years from the date on which the harm and the wrongdoer became known, and within 10 years from the date of the act
- Liability for non-performance of an obligation: within 10 years from the time of the breach of contract

If the limitation period passes, filing a lawsuit becomes impossible, so it is safest to proceed with a consultation as soon as you become aware of the harm.

Q. How does receiving a medical accident consultation help?

A. A specialist medical attorney assists with the following matters.

- Securing and analyzing medical records
- Requesting a medical expert appraisal and securing expert opinions
- Establishing a strategy for the claim for damages
- Filing the lawsuit and representing you in the trial proceedings

Through this, patients and their families can systematically resolve the legal and medical issues that are difficult to bear alone.

The specialist medical accident attorney focused intensively on the fact that the defendant hospital had ignored the typical signs of vascular injury that appeared immediately after the surgery.

Although changes in skin color, coldness, and reduced sensation had been recorded repeatedly in the patient's chart and the nursing records, the medical staff merely monitored the patient's progress through visual and tactile examination alone, and did not perform a blood flow test (Doppler, CT, and the like) even once.

The attorney in charge emphasized that such neglect of management constituted a breach of the duty of care that must fundamentally be observed in postoperative patient management, and emphasized that there was an obligation to compensate for damages.

One of the most difficult aspects in a medical accident case is rebutting the argument that ‘the same outcome might have occurred even if the proper measures had been taken.’

In response, the Daeryun specialist medical attorney persuasively established causation through the following specific materials.

As a result of requesting an appraisal from a university hospital, it was confirmed that symptoms suggesting a blockage of blood flow had recurred immediately after the surgery.

According to the clinical guidelines, when such symptoms arise, an immediate revascularization procedure should have been performed, or the patient should have been transferred to a higher-level hospital without delay.

The specialist medical attorney emphasized that the medical staff had not responded appropriately within the golden hour, and that as a result the client sustained serious physical harm.

In a medical malpractice case, simply alleging that “there was negligence” is not enough to persuade the court.

Accordingly, the attorney in charge focused on securing objective and scientific evidence to clearly establish the causal connection in the case.

▶Comprehensive analysis of medical records

The attorney secured the entire course of treatment without omission, including the patient's chart, surgical records, nursing logs, rounding reports, and prescription history.

By arranging each document in chronological order, the attorney specifically identified what gaps existed between the time the symptoms first appeared and the medical staff's response.

▶Quantification and visualization of the patient's condition

Blood test results, oxygen saturation, pain indices, and changes in body temperature were extracted and reconstructed into charts.

This made it possible to demonstrate objectively that the patient's condition continued to deteriorate over a certain period while the medical staff's response remained inadequate.

▶Clarification of the delay in diagnosis and treatment

The attorney specified the fact that no blood flow examination had been conducted at all, and compared the time at which the patient reported symptoms with the time at which the decision to transfer the patient was actually made.

By presenting the delayed time interval in ‘minutes,’ the attorney proved numerically that the hospital's passive response was directly connected to the outcome.

▶Request for expert appraisal by specialized medical institutions

The attorney requested appraisals from multiple university hospitals and specialists, comprehensively analyzing when the arterial damage occurred, whether measures within the golden time were possible, and how the delay in transfer affected the extent of the damage.

From the patient's standpoint, it is difficult to prove a medical malpractice case alone without specialized knowledge.

Therefore, the following preparation is necessary.

Checklist for Proving Harm from a Medical Accident

-Record the date and time when changes in symptoms occurred, or preserve them through photographs and videos

-Keep the originals of the surgical consent form, notices, and explanatory materials

-Prepare a written statement of the medical staff's explanations and responses witnessed by family members

-Obtain copies of medical records and organize a timeline

Daeryun Law Firm responds systematically from the medical malpractice consultation stage through medical appraisal, the assessment of damages, and trial strategy.

If you are experiencing difficulties due to harm from a medical accident, we recommend that you obtain the assistance of a specialist medical attorney from the initial consultation stage.