(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean medical community has reacted strongly to a recent Supreme Court ruling involving a surgeon who faced legal consequences for delaying surgery on a patient with a small bowel obstruction due to professional negligence.
In the past month, the top court upheld the decision regarding an individual referred to only as Surgeon A, who was charged with professional negligence.
The court confirmed his sentence of six months in prison and two years of probation.
The incident dates back to 2017 when the accused surgeon evaluated a patient who arrived at the emergency room with sudden abdominal pain. During the examination, he suspected an intestinal obstruction.
However, considering that the patient’s pain was diminishing and she had previously undergone a laparotomy for an ovarian tumor six months earlier, he opted for a conservative treatment approach.
Unfortunately, seven days later, the patient’s condition took a rapid turn for the worse, necessitating emergency surgery to resect the small intestine.
Tragically, a perforation in the necrotic small intestine resulted in sepsis and peritonitis, prompting a second surgical intervention.
As a consequence of these complications, the surgeon faced trial for causing injuries such as intestinal perforation, peritonitis, and sepsis during the emergency surgery.
The initial trial court recognized the doctor’s negligence, stating, “Considering the patient’s condition at the time, immediate surgery was the most appropriate course of action, and the delay in surgery constituted a breach of the duty of care.”
Subsequently, a prison sentence was imposed.
The Korean Medical Association responded to the Supreme Court’s decision, which upheld the original verdict.
The organization called on the National Assembly and the government to draft a special law on medical disputes, emphasizing, “If rulings that undermine medical judgment and penalize unfavorable outcomes become commonplace, it will expedite the adoption of defensive medicine and avoidance of necessary medical treatment, ultimately harming the public.”
The Korean Medical Association also issued a statement, asserting, “Doctors now find themselves in a precarious situation where decisions based on their medical judgment can lead to criminal charges. Medical treatment aims to preserve the life and health of patients, and holding doctors criminally responsible for unpredictable outcomes resulting from the inherent imperfections of the human body is detrimental to the sustainability of essential medical care.”
In response to concerns that medical accidents and disputes, particularly in crucial medical settings such as emergency rooms and pediatric clinics, are exacerbating the avoidance of essential medical care, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced its intention to explore ways to reduce the legal burden on medical personnel through discussions within the Expert Committee on the Expansion of Essential Medical Care under the Health Care Policy Review Committee.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
