By Lee Kyung-min
A group of people are moving to file a class action suit against the government and local hospitals, claiming their negligence in handling an outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) here resulted in deaths and financial losses.
According to the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ), an NGO providing legal counseling services to the victims, the suit will be filed early this week.
The group has listened to cases of more than 10 people affected by the virus, and are gathering more plaintiffs to join the lawsuit. The plaintiffs include a relative of a deceased MERS patient, who was healthy and had no history of major illness before becoming infected with the disease, the group said without identifying the victim.
The group claimed that infections and deaths resulted from the government’s failure to disclose the names of hospitals where suspected cases were reported in the early stages of the outbreak, coupled with the hospitals’ negligence in taking precautionary measures for medical staff.
“The amount of compensation they are seeking has yet to be determined,” a CCEJ official said.
Proving the government’s negligence will not be difficult, according to Shin Hyun-ho, a lawyer who is working as an advisor for the CCEJ on health and medical issues.
“In the case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003, the government maintained the highest alert against the possible infection by categorically ordering those suspected at home without any exception, a measure that is in stark contrast with the response to the MERS outbreak,” Shin said.
Hospitals are in no way less responsible for their failure to contain the outbreak by not properly informing their patients about infections there, he said.
“Under the law, hospitals are required to take responsibility for their patients’ safety and well-being. However, no hospitals voluntarily informed patients about MERS for fear of losing them, meaning money,” Shin added.
If the suit is filed, few hospitals which reported or treated MERS patients will be able to avoid compensating the alleged victims, he said.
Already, a lawsuit to hold the government responsible is underway, initiated by Mun Jeong-ku, a lawyer from Ahn & Chang.
Mun filed a suit with the Seoul Administrative Court against the government on June 19 claiming it was negligent in protecting the people by withholding names of affected hospitals during the first 19 days of the outbreak.
“I hope this administrative suit helps the other victims in winning a compensation suit against the government,” he said.
As of Monday, the total number of confirmed MERS cases was 186.
With no additional deaths reported for the past six days, the death toll remains at 33.
Of the 186 patients, 117 have recovered and been released from quarantine facilities.
The number of people released from the facility stands at 15,419, up 261 from Sunday's 15,158.