Caregiver Who Caused Necrosis by Cutting Patient's Nails Sentenced to Imprisonment with Suspension

Caregiver Injures Patient While Cutting Nails... Conceals Incident
Patient's Finger Eventually Becomes Necrotic... Suspended Sentence with Imprisonment Given

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A caregiver who caused an injury while trimming the fingernails of a dementia patient but failed to inform the medical staff, ultimately leading to the necrosis of the patient's finger, was sentenced to a suspended prison term in the first trial.

On the 7th, Judge Lee Seok-jae of the Criminal Division 5 at the Seoul Northern District Court sentenced A (76 years old), who was charged with injury due to professional negligence, to six months in prison with a two-year suspension. A is accused of causing an injury while trimming the fingernails of dementia patient B (79 years old) at a nursing hospital in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, in April 2022, and neglecting the resulting bleeding, which led to necrosis of the victim's finger.

At the time, A caused bleeding by pinching the skin under the left index fingernail of B with a nail clipper while trimming B’s nails. The victim was reportedly unable to express pain or communicate due to dementia and other underlying conditions. Exploiting this, A concealed the injury by not informing the medical staff, disinfecting the wound, applying gauze, and tying the end of the gauze with a rubber band. Afterwards, A left B’s left hand restrained with a restraint glove (a type of glove used to prevent self-harm or falls in patients). As a result, B did not receive timely treatment, causing circulatory problems that led to necrosis severe enough to require amputation of the left index finger.

Judge Lee explained the sentencing by stating, "The injury sustained by the victim was severe, and no settlement was reached with the victim," but also noted, "There is no prior criminal record."