Fell on the Neonatal Room Floor Just 5 Days After Birth
Court: "Intentional and Negligent Illegal Act... Liability for Compensation Exists"
A court ruling has been made that the hospital must pay compensation to the parents in connection with the 'Ayoung Incident,' where a newborn was dropped on the floor and fell into unconsciousness.
On the 15th, the Civil Division 9 of the Busan District Court announced that it partially ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, Ayoung's parents, in a damages lawsuit filed against nurse A from the hospital's obstetrics and gynecology neonatal unit and hospital director B. The court ordered the two defendants to pay Ayoung's parents 940 million KRW in damages, including property damages and consolation money. This amount corresponds to about 67% of the plaintiff's claim of 1.39 billion KRW, consisting of 730 million KRW for property damages and 150 million KRW for mental damages.
Jung Ah-young, who suffered a head injury due to abuse in the neonatal intensive care unit, fell into a coma, and after being declared brain dead, gifted new lives to four people through organ donation before passing away. [Photo by Korea Organ Donation Agency]
The court stated, "The fact that the defendants' illegal acts were recognized as guilty in the already finalized criminal trial judgment serves as strong evidence," and added, "The defendants' illegal acts fall under tortious acts as defined in Article 750 of the Civil Act, which states that a person who causes damage to another through illegal acts by intent or negligence is liable to compensate for the damage." Furthermore, the court explained, "Nurse A is the perpetrator of the illegal acts, and hospital director B, as A's employer, is responsible for compensating the deceased and the plaintiffs for the damages caused."
Nurse A, who abused Ayoung, was sentenced to six years in prison by the Supreme Court in May. She was charged with professional negligence causing injury and violation of the Child Abuse Punishment Act for abusing 14 newborns in the hospital's obstetrics and gynecology neonatal unit from October 5 to October 20, 2019, including holding a newborn's leg with one hand and lifting them upside down. She was also charged with causing injuries such as skull fractures to Ayoung by dropping her on the floor by an unknown method.
At the time of the abuse, Nurse A was pregnant and claimed, "I was under a lot of stress due to working three consecutive night shifts while pregnant," and argued, "(Ayoung's injury) might have been a congenital issue or caused by another nursing assistant."
Ayoung, born in October 2019 at an obstetrics and gynecology hospital in Dongnae-gu, Busan, suffered an accident where she fell onto the neonatal unit floor just five days after birth. Due to this accident, Ayoung was kept alive with a ventilator and received outpatient treatment at a university hospital. In October 2019, she fell into an unconscious state and was declared dead in June at Yangsan Busan National University Hospital. Before passing away, Ayoung donated her heart, lungs, liver, and kidneys, giving new life to four patients of similar age.
At the time, Ayoung's family said, "We want to give meaning to the child's arrival in this world," and added, "We hope that Ayoung is living and breathing somewhere else in another body, and we decided on the donation with the desire to save others."
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