International Law

Why Ambulance Chasing Doesn?t Pay in Korea

This short bit in the Korea Times piqued my interest, as it illustrates why English-speaking lawyers aren’t standing by to right every wrong against Korea’s long-suffering foreign teachers of English:

Doctor Blames for Suicide Stemming from Wrong Diagnosis

A hospital is partially responsible for a patient’s suicide if the suicide was committed after a doctor’s wrong diagnosis, according to a court ruling Tuesday.

The Seoul Eastern District Court ordered the National Police Hospital to pay 15 million won ($13,000) in damages to the wife of a late patient, acknowledging a mistaken diagnosis by a doctor at the hospital affected the patient’s suicide decision.

In May last year, the doctor diagnosed the unidentified patient as having terminal stomach cancer. After a few days, the patient killed himself. A detailed examination, however, showed later that he had gastritis.

The wife filed a suit against the hospital, claiming her husband committed suicide from the shock of the diagnosis.

The court ordered the hospital to pay 15 million won.

“We recognize the wrong diagnosis influenced the patient’s decision to kill himself,” judge Park Kyung-gil said in the ruling.

“The patient himself is the most responsible for the suicide. But it seems that he had no other reasons to kill himself beside the erroneous diagnosis, as he had no mental illness related to suicide and was in no financial difficulty,” Park said.

The damages available in the case of shocking medical malpractice resulting in wrongful death were only W15 million (about US$13,000 at today’s exchange rate). Plaintiffs are responsible for nearly all of their legal costs (yes, the court awards money for “legal costs” to a successful plaintiff, but the costs award is based on a fanciful idea of what a lawyer should cost, rather than what a lawyer does cost), which means unless you’re able to represent yourself as a pro se litigant, careful cost-benefit analysis should be undertaken.

And, no, we don’t want to work on a contingency fee. Even 100% of W15 million doesn’t cover the cost of the trial.

Full post as published by Korea Law Blog on September 24, 2008 (boomark / email).