Death After Taking 'Health Supplements'... Supreme Court Rules "Company Responsible"

1st Trial "No Consumer Protection Duty" → 2nd Trial "Recognition of Duty Violation"
Supreme Court "Duty Violation, Seller's Liability for Breach of Contract and Tort Damages"

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] The Supreme Court has ruled that if a customer dies after taking health supplements based on incorrect information provided by the seller, the seller bears responsibility. This recognizes the seller's duty of care toward the customer.

The Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Jae-hyung) announced on the 17th that it upheld the lower court's ruling in favor of the plaintiff, the bereaved family of the deceased A, in a damages claim lawsuit against a health supplement company.

A, who had been taking various medications for a long time due to myocardial infarction and other conditions, heard from B, the representative of the health supplement company, in March 2018 that nucleic acid processed products were good for health. A purchased a total of four boxes (one month's supply) and began taking them daily.

However, after taking the health supplements, various side effects occurred, and when the situation escalated to the point of needing emergency care, A complained of pain to B. B responded with messages saying, "This is the beginning of the healing reaction, please endure it well," and "You must feel pain to get better. Welcome the pain."

As a result, A did not go to the hospital but instead took even larger doses of the supplements and endured the pain, eventually dying in April 2018 from necrotizing fasciitis, acute pyelonephritis leading to sepsis, and organ failure. The bereaved family filed a lawsuit seeking damages against B and the manufacturer.

The first trial court ruled that there were no manufacturing, design, or labeling defects in the health supplements sold by B and others, and that there was no causal relationship between A's death and the product intake.

On the other hand, the second trial court recognized the violation of the seller's duty of care and the causal relationship, holding the manufacturer liable for damages to the bereaved family. The second trial court stated, "Considering medical opinions that if treatment had been received promptly after symptoms such as necrotizing fasciitis appeared, the risk to A's life would have been very low, a significant causal relationship is recognized between B's breach of duty and A's death," and ordered compensation of 130 million won.

The Supreme Court also agreed with the second trial court's judgment that a causal relationship exists between the victim's death and the seller's breach of duty of care.

The court stated, "If a health supplement seller without medical knowledge actively obstructs the proper formation of awareness regarding the risks of blindly trusting the therapeutic effects of health supplements and discontinuing medical treatment for customers suffering from intractable or chronic diseases, or continues to provide medical advice that leads to dangerous outcomes considering the customer's situation, the health supplement seller is liable for damages due to breach of contract or tort."

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