By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

A high court has ruled that one of the nation's top hospitals is liable for making a wrong diagnosis and another responsible for performing an operation based on the false data.

The Seoul High Court ordered Severance Hospital and Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) to pay 51 million won ($40,780) in compensation to a 49-year-old patient named Kim, Tuesday. It overturned a lower court ruling, which found only Severance guilty.

In July 2005, a tumor was found in Kim's right breast during a health checkup, and she had ultrasound and biopsy examinations at Severance in November.

When compiling test results, the hospital mistakenly put Kim's name on another patient's chart, and diagnosed the tumor as breast cancer.

Severance recommended she have part of her right breast removed, but she first decided to go to SNUH to confirm the diagnosis.

Doctors of the latter hospital, however, made the same conclusion through simple tests but did not conduct another biopsy, and performed the removal days later.

But no cancer cells were found in the removed part, and when SNUH asked Severance what happened, they discovered that patient charts had been mixed up.

The lower court earlier ordered only Severance to pay 39 million won to Kim for the misdiagnosis, saying it was customary for hospitals not to conduct re-examinations when other trustworthy hospitals have already done so.

But the high court said: "Kim visited SNUH to re-confirm the diagnosis. So, SNUH had a responsibility to re-examine her by conducting a biopsy and re-checking Severance's result. But it performed the operation without additional tests, failing to fulfill its duty to pay due attention in diagnosis."

"Kim claims she suffers from pain and weakened strength in her right shoulder, but we do not recognize that she has lost her ability to work," it said, ordering the hospitals to pay 51 million won instead of the 130 million won that she had claimed.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr