Mother who died after giving birth... Law: “The hospital is responsible for not providing emergency treatment in a timely manner.”

Mr. A complained of difficulty breathing after cesarean section... He was taken to the hospital but died.

The bereaved family of a mother who died after complaining of difficulty breathing after giving birth won a lawsuit for damages filed against hospital medical staff.

The Cheongju District Court ruled in favor of some of the plaintiffs, saying, "The defendant should compensate the plaintiffs a total of 330 million won in a damages lawsuit filed by the bereaved family of Mr. A, who died after giving birth last September, against the obstetrics and gynecology staff."

In March 2023, Ms. A was hospitalized at a local obstetrics and gynecology clinic to give birth and underwent cesarean section.

However, Mr. A complained of pain in the surgical area the morning after the surgery, and soon after began to show symptoms of difficulty breathing.

Accordingly, the hospital medical staff provided first aid using an oxygen tank, but Mr. A's condition worsened, and Mr. A, who was transferred to a nearby university hospital, eventually died in the early morning of the next day.

The cause of Mr. A's death, according to the National Institute of Forensic Science, was pulmonary artery thromboembolism.

Mr. A's bereaved family pointed out that the hospital medical staff did not conduct an initial evaluation, including measuring vital signs, on Mr. A, who was showing symptoms of breathing difficulties.

In particular, a lawsuit was filed claiming that the death occurred because emergency measures were not taken in time, such as not supplying oxygen through ambubagging to Mr. A until cardiac arrest occurred and belated endotracheal intubation.

The hospital's medical staff protested.

Immediately after the symptoms of breathing difficulties occurred to Mr. A, they began supplying oxygen through an oxygen tank and immediately reported to 119. They also claimed that tracheal intubation was performed in consultation with an anesthesiologist resident at the hospital.

At the same time, he emphasized that he had fulfilled all his duties as an obstetrician-gynecologist.

The court ruled in favor of Mr. A's family.

The court explained, "This court's medical record evaluator presented an opinion to the effect that if an elderly mother with the same physical condition as the deceased suddenly complains of breathing difficulties, pulmonary embolism may be suspected, and if spontaneous breathing is not achieved, ambubagging or endotracheal intubation should be promptly performed."

At the same time, the court pointed out, "However, considering that endotracheal intubation was performed approximately 43 minutes after the deceased first complained of difficulty breathing and collapsed, it appears that the hospital medical staff did not take any special measures to secure the deceased's airway until the firefighters arrived."

However, the court added that it was reasonable to limit the scope of liability to 60%, taking into account the fact that the medical staff took measures such as CPR from endotracheal intubation until transfer to the university hospital and took measures to transfer Mr. A.

Attorney Lee In-jun Lee of Daeryun Law Firm, who acted as legal representative for Mr. A's bereaved family, explained, "Even if we take into account the low incidence of pulmonary thromboembolism, we were able to obtain a favorable ruling by emphasizing that medical negligence was acknowledged because the hospital medical staff failed to quickly detect the possibility and were lax in even basic responses, thereby missing the timing for emergency treatment."

#Mother #Death #Emergency measures #Court #Accident

Park Seok-ho (haitai2000@ikbc.co.kr)

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