Hospital ordered to pay $430,000 for child’s disability after C-section refusal
A medical team performs surgery at an operating room in a hospital. gettyimagesbank
A court has ordered a hospital to pay more than 600 million won ($430,000) in damages to a couple and their son, who was born with disabilities after doctors refused to perform a cesarean section despite a prolonged and difficult labor.
The ruling said the hospital was responsible for forcing a natural birth that led to the child’s permanent injury, a decision legal experts say is rare in both the size of compensation and recognition of medical negligence.
The Suwon High Court, presided over by Judge Lee Soo-young, ruled on Sept. 19 that the hospital must pay 620 million won to the parents and their son, along with interest. Including accrued interest since the birth, the compensation amounts to roughly 1.01 billion won as of Monday.
According to court records, the woman gave birth to her son at an obstetrics clinic in Gyeonggi Province in January 2016 after 11 hours of induced labor. Despite the couple’s repeated requests for a C-section, the hospital insisted on proceeding with a natural delivery.
The boy was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy in March 2017 and now suffers from physical, speech and cognitive impairments that require constant assistance in all areas of daily life.
The parents filed a lawsuit against the hospital in November 2020, claiming the medical team ignored clear warning signs during delivery — including the baby being trapped in the pelvis and a drop in fetal heart rate — and that the forced vaginal birth caused the brain injury.
In the first trial in August 2023, the Pyeongtaek branch of the Suwon District Court ordered the hospital to pay 559 million won in damages, acknowledging that the hospital was responsible for 30 percent of the child’s lifelong medical and caregiving expenses.
The high court increased the total by about 62 million won, extending the boy’s expected lifespan and thus his care costs.
Both courts found that the hospital failed in its duty of care. The rulings noted that she was a high-risk patient and that her labor was prolonged, yet the hospital failed to properly monitor the fetus’s condition even after the parents twice requested a cesarean section.
While the decision to perform surgery lies within a doctor’s discretion, the judges said the medical staff should have more closely monitored fetal distress once they chose to continue with natural birth.
Guidelines by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend checking fetal heart rates every five to 15 minutes for high-risk mothers.
However, the hospital conducted only three non-stress tests (NSTs) during the 11-hour labor and none at all during the final three hours and 20 minutes, according to court findings.
The court concluded that the boy’s disabilities most likely occurred during delivery, as no abnormalities were detected during prenatal checkups and no genetic or other external causes were identified.
A medical review by the Korean Medical Association also found that blood acidity, glucose and lactate levels at birth indicated hypoxia caused by fetal distress.
The hospital also faced allegations of submitting falsified evidence. Just before the first trial ruling, the hospital submitted additional NST records.
However, the court dismissed them. “It is difficult to determine these records were created at the time of delivery, given they were submitted more than eight years after the incident," the court said.
Believing the hospital attempted to reduce its liability with fabricated evidence, the couple filed a criminal complaint accusing hospital staff of attempted fraud. Police forwarded the case to prosecutors on Sept. 3 for further investigation.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.