This undated file photo shows the Supreme Court in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, June 3 (Korea Bizwire) — The top court on Thursday upheld lower courts’ acquittal of a head of a nursing hospital in a case involving the death of an elderly patient who committed suicide by jumping from his hospital room.
The Supreme Court said it upheld not-guilty verdicts issued by an appeals court for the head of the hospital and three nurses, who were all charged with accidental homicide.
In the summer of 2019, the patient, aged 70, who suffered from Parkinson’s disease and dementia, committed suicide by jumping from his hospital room.
An investigation revealed that starting two months before the suicide, the patient showed a strong feeling of unrest and nervousness and frequently mentioned that he wanted to die.
The prosecutors indicted the hospital’s head and three nurses, citing the lack of a safety net and locking device for the window and the negligence of care duty.
The district and appellate courts, however, acquitted the hospital employees, saying that it was not possible for them to predict the death of the patient even if he suffered from Parkinson’s disease and dementia.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
