KB News Desk
A South Korean court has recently ordered a hospital to pay 540 million won ($378,000) in compensation to the family of a deceased newborn who died due to the hospital staff’s excessive feeding.
The Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of the compensation claim submitted by the bereaved family, acknowledging that the hospital staff is to be held accountable for the child’s death in 2024. The attending doctor and hospital head were to pay the compensation, jointly shouldered by the medical institute’s insurance company.
The child was born on Jan. 16, 2024, and put under the care of the staff. It was found that the baby was fed a total of 270 milliliters six times over eight hours, between 7 p.m. on Jan. 18 and 3 a.m. the next day. It is generally recommended to feed a newborn eight to 12 times every 24 hours.
The baby was found not breathing at around 5 a.m. on Jan. 19, with signs of cyanosis over the body, and died two hours later. The attending doctor was unavailable during the critical hours.
It was ruled that the baby’s death was caused by vomit due to excessive feeding, based on the autopsy conducted by the National Forensic Service.
“Based on the size of a newborn’s stomach, the recommended amount of feeding, and too much feeding in a short period of time has been conducted,” the court said in its ruling. It said the staff fed the baby for convenience, ignoring childcare guidelines.
The court also said the hospital did not take necessary emergency care once the baby was found to be in a critical condition.
The hospital claimed that the baby died of sudden infant death syndrome, which the court shot down. It said even if the child suffered from SIDS, the staff could have prevented the death with sufficient care.
The defendants have appealed the ruling.
