[Exclusive] Court Orders 1 Billion Won Compensation for Brain-Damaged Mother 7 Years After Childbirth... Reverses First Trial Loss

Suwon High Court exterior. [Photo by Suwon High Court website]

A mother who suffered brain damage during childbirth, resulting in intelligence equivalent to that of a 5-year-old child, has been able to receive compensation seven years after the accident occurred.

Previously, the first-instance court dismissed all of the mother's claims, but the second-instance court recognized the hospital's negligence and overturned the decision.

According to the legal community on the 31st, the Civil Division 2 of Suwon High Court (Presiding Judge Lee Soo-young) ruled in the appeal trial of a damages claim filed by Ms. Park, who suffered permanent brain damage due to excessive bleeding during childbirth, against a certain obstetrics and gynecology hospital, ordering "the defendant to pay the plaintiff 1,061,800,000 KRW and interest from February 1, 2016." The total amount including compensation and interest reaches approximately 1.5 billion KRW.

Ms. Park, who was 31 years old at the time of the accident, was admitted to an obstetrics and gynecology hospital in Gyeonggi Province on February 1, 2016, at 40 weeks of pregnancy to give birth.

On the same afternoon, while attempting natural delivery, the fetal heart rate dropped to 90-140 beats per minute, and the doctor diagnosed fetal distress, anesthetized Ms. Park, and performed an emergency cesarean section. Immediately after delivering a 3.7 kg female infant, there were no abnormal signs in Ms. Park’s blood pressure or pulse.

However, after suturing the surgical site, vaginal bleeding appeared in Ms. Park, and although the medical staff administered uterotonic agents and performed balloon tamponade, the vaginal bleeding continued to seep.

The medical staff reopened the surgical site to locate the bleeding area. They found a hematoma on the left side of the uterine incision, sutured the bleeding site, confirmed uterine atony, and performed uterine compression sutures. When there was no improvement, the hospital obtained consent from Ms. Park’s husband and performed a partial hysterectomy.

Despite this, the bleeding persisted, and the medical staff transferred Ms. Park to Ajou University Hospital emergency room after midnight the next day. Upon arrival at Ajou University Hospital, Ms. Park was unconscious. Abdominal CT scans revealed multiple bleeding lesions, and the medical staff performed uterine artery embolization. After the procedure, the bleeding stopped.

However, a few days later, Ms. Park’s brain MRI showed signs of hypoxic brain injury due to excessive bleeding, and on the 12th of the same month, she was diagnosed with suspected hypoxic brain injury and suspected obstetric pulmonary embolism.

At the time of filing the lawsuit, Ms. Park had cognitive decline due to ischemic brain injury, mild paralysis of the limbs, and walking difficulties.

JTBC 'Sageon Banjang' broadcast scene.

This case was introduced last month on JTBC’s current affairs program "Case Manager" under the title "Daughter Disabled Due to Cardiac Arrest During Childbirth... Son-in-law Demands Divorce." On the broadcast, Ms. Park’s mother revealed that Ms. Park’s intelligence test results showed a level equivalent to a 5-year and 10-month-old child. Ms. Park was known to be intelligent enough to work at a large corporation with her husband.

After the accident, Ms. Park’s in-laws demanded a divorce, but it did not take place. Currently, Ms. Park’s mother has been appointed as her legal guardian.

The Suwon District Court Civil Division 14 (Presiding Judge Kim Yang-hoon), which handled the first trial, dismissed all of Ms. Park’s claims and ordered her to bear all litigation costs.

In the first trial, Ms. Park’s side argued negligence including ▲failure to properly suture the uterine incision causing massive bleeding ▲failure to adequately respond to massive bleeding ▲failure to perform timely and appropriate hemostatic measures ▲delay in transfer ▲breach of duty to explain ▲breach of duty to provide guidance ▲obstruction of evidence, but none were accepted. The court ruled that there was no medical negligence or breach of duty of care from delivery to transfer to Ajou University Hospital.

However, the decision was overturned in the second trial.

The second-instance court recognized negligence including ▲failure to properly monitor and record Ms. Park’s bleeding after cesarean section ▲failure to adequately respond to massive bleeding such as not performing immediate hysterectomy ▲failure to promptly transfer to a larger hospital capable of performing surgery for bleeding ▲failure to sufficiently explain the necessity of hysterectomy or transfer to the patient.

This case, which occurred on February 1, 2016, took 3 years and 8 months until the first trial verdict and another 2 years and 5 months for the second trial verdict.

Shin Hyun-ho, lead attorney at Law Office Haewool representing Ms. Park, said, "This is a typical medical malpractice case where bleeding monitoring every 15 minutes for over an hour after cesarean section was not performed, and despite diagnosis of massive bleeding, immediate hysterectomy or transfer to a higher-level hospital was not done, resulting in hemorrhagic shock and hypoxic brain injury. It took over seven years to win the case." He added, "This trial also has significance in reducing the burden of proof on the patient side regarding medical negligence."