Why Did the Person in Their 50s Who Died in a Traffic Accident Conceal Their Hospital Movements? [Seocho-dong Legal Story]

On the night of December 19, 2020, around 10 p.m., a Porsche vehicle passing through a curved section in Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi Province, crossed the center line and hit a roadside tree.

A man in his 50s crawled out from the overturned vehicle's passenger seat. Although he had broken ribs and was bleeding, instead of calling 112 or 119, he called a taxi. When he went to the hospital on his own, he did not properly inform the medical staff that he had been in a traffic accident and lied about the circumstances of the accident. Due to delayed treatment, the man died from excessive bleeding in the hospital emergency room 14 hours after the accident occurred.

The photo is unrelated to the article content. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The driver and the man had been drinking soju and beer at a restaurant operated by the driver on the day of the accident and were on their way to another drinking gathering. The driver, whose speech was slurred and eyes bloodshot, was swaying significantly while driving about 3.2 km. At the time of the accident, the driver's blood alcohol concentration was 0.18%, exceeding the license cancellation limit. Investigations revealed that the driver and the man were in an extramarital relationship, and the man had a wife and daughter.

The prosecution brought the driver to criminal trial. Judge Park Geun-gyu of the Uijeongbu District Court Criminal Division 4 sentenced the driver to three years in prison with a four-year probation, stating, "It is difficult to comprehend the mental shock and pain the bereaved family has endured due to this incident. The daughter broke down in tears in the courtroom."

Judge Park added, "The driver admitted to the crime and said he would live with a repentant heart. He reached a settlement with the bereaved family and is a first-time offender." The driver agreed to pay the bereaved family 80 million won and an additional 70 million won if he avoided imprisonment. The criminal trial was finalized at the first instance.

Separately, the bereaved family filed a claim for 1.15 billion won in damages against the driver's automobile insurance company. Recently, Judge Park Jong-taek of the Seoul Central District Court Civil Division 60 ruled, "The insurance company shall pay 312 million won to the wife and 470 million won to the daughter."

Judge Park considered the bereaved family's mental damages (compensation for emotional distress), the relationship between the driver and the man, and the circumstances of the accident. Funeral expenses, living costs, and the income the man could have earned had he not died and continued working were also taken into account in calculating the damages.

However, the court only accepted 55% of the claimed amount by the bereaved family. The court stated, "The deceased man drank alcohol with the driver and suggested going elsewhere to drink more. After the accident, he took a taxi and arrived late at the hospital, deceiving the medical staff so they could not understand the accident situation, thereby losing the opportunity to receive prompt treatment himself." Considering these points, the court determined the deceased's negligence ratio to be 45%.

The bereaved family appealed the first-instance civil court ruling.