Dementia Patient Dies After Fall from Nursing Hospital's Second Floor... Why Were the Operator and Medical Staff Acquitted?

Death After Falling from Second-Floor Veranda at Night
Court: "Difficult to Foresee the Accident"
Hospital Operator and Night Nurse Assistant Acquitted Again on Appeal

The hospital operator and a nursing assistant, who were indicted for negligence after a dementia patient died by jumping from the second floor of a nursing hospital, were acquitted again on appeal. The court found that it is realistically impossible for medical staff to predict and prepare for the possibility of a patient jumping in advance.

On August 25, the Jeonju District Court Criminal Division 3-3 (Presiding Judge Jung Sejin) dismissed the prosecutor's appeal and upheld the original verdict of not guilty for Chairman A (61) of the nursing hospital and nursing assistant B (55, female), who were charged with occupational negligence resulting in death.

A and B were indicted for failing to properly supervise a patient at a nursing hospital in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, at around 8:40 p.m. on November 20, 2021, resulting in the death of dementia patient C (83). At the time, C was wandering the ward, climbed onto an outdoor air conditioning unit placed on the second-floor veranda, and fell about 6 meters, resulting in death.

The prosecution argued that A, who was ultimately responsible for hospital operations, and B, who was on night duty, were responsible for the patient's death. According to the prosecution, A neglected to install safety facilities and failed to properly train staff, while B did not adequately monitor the patient's abnormal behavior during her night shift, thus failing to prevent the accident.

The prosecutor stated, "The hospital has a duty to prevent patients requiring special attention from accessing areas where there is a risk of falling," and added, "The defendants did not install a control device on the door leading to the veranda, nor did they warn patients of the potential danger."

However, the court of first instance ruled, "The deceased, C, had not previously attempted to escape, commit suicide, or self-harm, so there was no particular reason to regard C as a patient requiring special attention," and added, "It is difficult to foresee, based on social norms, that C would have fallen by climbing over the veranda railing at that time." The court therefore acquitted the defendants.

Regarding access control, the court explained, "The veranda where the accident occurred needs to be available as an evacuation space in case of fire, so it should not be arbitrarily closed or its function impaired solely to prevent patient falls."

The prosecutor appealed the verdict, but the appellate court reached the same conclusion as the original trial.

The appellate court stated, "Based solely on the evidence submitted by the prosecutor, it is difficult to find that the defendants were negligent in their work or that the resulting outcome (C's death) could have been foreseen," and upheld the original not-guilty verdict.