Refusal of Emergency Treatment Led to 20km Transfer to Another Hospital
Child Ultimately Passed Away
Medical staff at a university hospital who either ignored an emergency treatment request from a 119 ambulance carrying a critically ill four-year-old child or failed to properly document medical records have been fined. The child, unable to receive treatment at a nearby hospital, was eventually transferred to a distant hospital and passed away five months later.
On October 27, Judge Kim Eonji of the Ulsan District Court Criminal Division 9 sentenced Mr. A (34), who was indicted for violating the Emergency Medical Services Act, to a fine of 5 million won.
Mr. A was on duty at the pediatric emergency room at Yangsan Pusan National University Hospital in October 2019 when he was accused of effectively refusing an emergency treatment request from a 119 ambulance transporting Kim Donghee (then 4 years old), who had lost consciousness. At that time, Kim had undergone a tonsillectomy at Yangsan Pusan National University Hospital about two weeks earlier.
The ambulance, heading to the nearest hospital where the surgery had been performed, contacted the pediatric emergency room, but Mr. A responded by saying, "There is already a patient undergoing CPR," and asked them to transfer the child to another hospital. However, subsequent investigations revealed that there were no patients in the emergency room at that time whose condition was so critical as to justify refusing to treat Kim.
As a result, the ambulance traveled to a hospital in the Busan area more than 20 kilometers away, and Kim, who never regained consciousness, remained on life support until passing away in March of the following year.
The court stated, "By refusing the emergency medical request without justifiable reason, the victim, who was in cardiac arrest, lost the opportunity to receive prompt emergency care," but added, "However, we considered that the emergency room was overcrowded at the time and the workload was high" as factors in sentencing.
On the same day, Mr. B (41), who performed cauterization to stop bleeding after Kim's tonsillectomy but discharged him without proper documentation of the medical records, was also fined 5 million won. In addition, Mr. C (45), who was covering a shift at another hospital Kim visited after his condition worsened following discharge from Yangsan Pusan National University Hospital, did not treat Kim directly and handed him over to the 119 ambulance without promptly providing medical records, and received the same sentence.
The court found Mr. B and Mr. C not guilty of occupational negligence resulting in death. The court explained, "Although there was a failure in the performance of work duties, it cannot be clearly established that there was a direct causal relationship with the child's death," adding, "While we are acquitting the defendants of occupational negligence resulting in death, this does not mean they are without fault."
Meanwhile, Pusan National University Hospital was fined 10 million won for negligence in managing physicians' work. Kim's mother, who was present at the sentencing, said, "I cannot accept the not-guilty verdict on occupational negligence resulting in death, given that the court acknowledged negligence in work duties but said the causal link to my son's death was not proven beyond reasonable doubt," adding, "I hope the prosecution appeals and that appropriate punishment will be delivered."
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