Missed Cancer Treatment Timing Due to Hospital's Inadequate Diagnosis... Court Orders Compensation to Bereaved Family

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[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The hospital foundation was ordered to pay compensation after failing to detect pancreatic cancer in time due to a misreading, which led to the patient's death. According to the legal community on the 4th, Judge Woojung Jeong of the Civil Division 39 at the Seoul Central District Court ruled partially in favor of the bereaved family of the deceased patient Mr. A in a damages lawsuit filed against Foundation C. The court ordered, "The defendant shall compensate the plaintiffs a total of 29.99 million KRW plus delayed interest."

“No abnormalities” but cancer diagnosed after 3 months

Mr. A visited Hospital D, operated by Foundation C, in August 2018 complaining of indigestion. He was prescribed medication for peptic ulcers by the hospital medical staff and took it. In September of the same year, he underwent a computed tomography (CT) scan and received a report stating "no abnormalities." However, Mr. A continued to complain of abdominal pain and visited the emergency room of Hospital D in December, where chest and abdominal X-ray examinations and blood tests were conducted. No significant abnormalities were found at that time either.

About three months later, in March 2019, Mr. A returned to the emergency room of Hospital D and underwent an abdominal CT scan. The scan revealed a 3.8 cm pancreatic mass suspected of liver metastasis. Mr. A was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and eventually passed away in September last year while undergoing chemotherapy. The bereaved family filed a damages lawsuit seeking approximately 70 million KRW, claiming that the hospital's negligence caused a delay in treatment leading to Mr. A's death.

Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Honam Moon munonam@

"Negligence in accurately interpreting CT results acknowledged"

The court found that "the hospital medical staff were negligent in accurately interpreting the CT scan results." It was determined that if the CT images had been carefully examined during the first test, a diagnosis of suspected pancreatic cancer lesions could have been made. According to the expert opinion on Mr. A’s medical records obtained by the court, a 2.5 cm hypoechoic lesion spanning the pancreatic neck and uncinate process was identified in the first CT scan. The court stated, "The misreading affected subsequent treatment direction and prognosis," and "a causal relationship between the negligence and death is recognized."

However, the court did not accept the bereaved family’s claim that "despite Mr. A’s continued complaints of pain after the first CT scan, the hospital neglected to conduct additional tests." Considering the possibility that distinguishing between normal pancreas and lesions on the first CT images was difficult, the court limited the compensation amount to 40% of the claimed damages.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.