Death of Patient Administered 'Side Effect Drugs'... Gangnam Severance Specialist's Second Trial Retrial

1st and 2nd Trials "Negligence of Duty of Care" Specialist Ordered Medication Suspended 1 Year, Probation 3 Years
Supreme Court "Must Consider Resident's Lack of Experience and Whether Instructions Were Reasonable"

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Kyung-jun] A doctor at Gangnam Severance Hospital, who was prosecuted for administering a colon cleansing agent that could cause side effects to a patient with bowel obstruction, resulting in the patient's death, will undergo a retrial in the second trial.

The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Cheon Dae-yeop) on the 1st overturned the original verdict that sentenced Dr. Jeong and Dr. Kang of Gangnam Severance Hospital, who were charged with professional negligence resulting in death, to one year of imprisonment with three years of probation and ten months of imprisonment with two years of probation, respectively, and sent the case back to the second trial.

Jeong and Kang were prosecuted for administering a colon cleansing agent to patient A, who was hospitalized in 2016 on suspicion of colon cancer for an endoscopic examination, which led to multiple organ damage and death.

Jeong, a gastroenterology professor and A's attending physician, approved the administration of the colon cleansing agent after receiving a report from Kang, a resident. However, this drug is known to cause fatal side effects in patients with bowel obstruction and is generally prohibited from being administered.

The trial focused on whether a supervising physician can be held responsible for the consequences to the patient caused by the negligence of another physician to whom medical duties were delegated under a command and supervision relationship.

The first trial recognized the guilt of both individuals, sentencing Jeong to ten months imprisonment with immediate detention and Kang to ten months imprisonment with two years probation.

The second trial acknowledged the guilt of both, stating they "neglected the duty of care generally required of physicians," but considering A's underlying conditions and advanced age, did not impose actual imprisonment. Instead, Jeong was sentenced to one year imprisonment with three years probation, and Kang to ten months imprisonment with two years probation.

However, the Supreme Court's judgment differed. It held that unless there are circumstances making the delegation unreasonable and other facts indicating that the delegating physician was aware or could have been aware of this, the delegating physician cannot be held responsible for the results caused by the negligence of the delegated physician.

The court stated, "To recognize responsibility for breach of duty of care on the part of specialist Jeong, it must be specifically examined whether there were special circumstances such as the resident Kang lacking sufficient experience in gastrointestinal internal medicine or it being unreasonable to expect appropriate performance based on prior experience, and whether there was proof that delegating the prescription of the colon cleansing agent and related explanations was unreasonable."

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