Confirmed Suspended Sentence for Doctor in Aortic Dissection Symptom Misdiagnosis Leading to Limb Paralysis

Diagnosed Aortic Dissection as Acute Gastritis
Refused Test Requests... Falsified Medical Records
KMA Opposes 'Death Sentence for Essential Medical Care'

A suspended prison sentence was confirmed for a doctor who misdiagnosed a patient, failed to take appropriate measures, and sent the patient home, resulting in the patient suffering from brain lesion disability.

According to the legal community, on the 14th, the Supreme Court Division 1 (Presiding Justice Oh Kyung-mi) upheld the original court ruling that sentenced Kim, who was charged with professional negligence causing injury and violation of the Medical Service Act, to six months in prison with a two-year suspension.

Supreme Court
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim, a first-year resident in emergency medicine, judged a patient who visited the emergency room around 1 a.m. on September 11, 2014, showing symptoms of aortic dissection, as having simple acute gastritis and sent the patient home. According to the ruling, the patient's daughter, a nurse with over 10 years of experience, requested a cardiology consultation due to back pain, but Kim refused. Ultimately, the patient lost consciousness at home around 10 a.m. the next day due to bilateral multiple cerebral infarctions and developed brain lesion disability, resulting in loss of cognitive function and paralysis of the limbs.

Additionally, Kim is accused of falsifying medical records on September 24 by stating that the guardian refused a chest CT scan that was never recommended.

Both the first and appellate courts found Kim guilty of all charges. The appellate court stated, "If the defendant had conducted additional tests such as a chest CT scan, the victim's aortic dissection could have been diagnosed, and if the victim had been diagnosed early upon hospital visit, it is reasonable to believe that timely surgery could have been performed." Kim filed an appeal, but the Supreme Court dismissed it, finding no issues with the lower court's judgment.

Meanwhile, the Korean Medical Association (KMA) issued a statement regarding the ruling, calling it an "excessive judgment that leads to the collapse of essential and emergency medical care," and argued that "(the ruling) will result in avoidance of high-risk medical fields and patients, and defensive medicine, causing a crisis in the entire medical field." They also emphasized that "the Emergency Medical Service Act amendment, which reduces criminal liability for emergency medical personnel, must pass through the National Assembly, and legislation exempting medical accidents from criminal liability should be enacted promptly."

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