Trends of criminal responsibility in emergency care

Woo, Haerim; Lim, Jeeyong; Kim, Hyo Joon; Chung, Jae Hoon

J Korean Soc Emerg Med > Volume 34(6); 2023 > Article

Original Article

Journal of The Korean Society of Emergency Medicine 2023;34(6): 558-567.

응급의료와 형사책임, 그리고 추세

우혜림¹

, 임지용²

, 김효준²

, 정재훈³

¹가톨릭대학교 의과대학 응급의학교실 부천성모병원
²가톨릭대학교 의과대학 응급의학교실 서울성모병원
³법무법인 루츠

Trends of criminal responsibility in emergency care

¹Department of Emergency Medicine, Bucheon St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University, Bucheon, Korea
²Department of Emergency Medicine, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University, Seoul, Korea
³Roots Law Firm, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence

Jeeyong Lim ,Tel: 02-2258-1990, Fax: 02-2258-1997, Email: ny1117@catholic.ac.kr,

Received: October 5, 2022; Revised: October 19, 2022 Accepted: November 2, 2022. Published online: December 31, 2023.

ABSTRACT

Objective:
Criminal proceedings of medical accidents are increasing gradually, and convictions are also on the rise. This study examined the precedents to determine how to prevent medical lawsuits from the perspective of criminal law.
Method:
This study collected the criminal precedents of emergency treatment from January 2012 to December 2021. The emergency care in the Integrated Search and Access Service for Judgement was searched online.
Results:
In 2,371 cases, 22 precedents of professional negligence resulting in death or injury were extracted. These 22 cases were analyzed to understand the legal perspective of the judgment. Of those 22 cases, there were convictions in 10 cases of criminal precedents of emergency treatment and 12 acquittals within the last 10 years. There were four cases where the accused were guilty in the first trial but acquitted in the second. On the other hand, there was one case in which the accused was acquitted in the first trial but convicted in the second.
Conclusion:
Having basic legal knowledge and concepts to prevent medical accidents is helpful. In an inevitable medical accident, it is necessary to actively deal with it from the beginning to prevent significant damage. In addition, it is important to review recent medical trials and to update procedures where possible.

Key words: Legal case; Accident prevention; Emergency medicine