[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Supreme Court has ruled that a doctor and hospital must pay 1.1 billion KRW in damages for removing a part of a patient's lung without obtaining consent.
On the 28th, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Kim Seonsu) confirmed the appellate court's ruling, which partially ruled in favor of the plaintiff, lawyer Oh, in a damages lawsuit against School Corporation A and affiliated doctor B.
Oh, who was diagnosed with pneumonia at a hospital operated by School Corporation A, agreed to have a portion of his lung removed for a biopsy to obtain an accurate diagnosis. Doctor B judged that an accurate diagnosis was difficult with only that area and that inflammation healing would not proceed smoothly, so he proceeded with surgery to remove the right upper lobe of the lung.
However, the final biopsy result revealed tuberculosis, and Oh filed a damages lawsuit against Doctor B and the hospital, claiming that lung resection was unnecessary.
The first trial court held that Oh consented to the biopsy to identify the causative bacteria, not to the resection surgery. Considering Oh’s very sensitive reaction to removing lung tissue for the biopsy, the court interpreted that he would not have consented to lung resection surgery. Accordingly, the first trial court ordered the school corporation and Doctor B to pay approximately 1.44 billion KRW, calculating Oh’s medical expenses, nursing costs, and lost income due to hospitalization.
The appellate court recognized damages responsibility of 1.1 billion KRW, less than the first trial. It stated that it was not proven that Oh would maintain an income of 30 million KRW per month even after retirement at age 60.
Both plaintiff and defendant appealed, but the Supreme Court dismissed both appeals.
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