Supreme Court Decision 2020Da217533 Decided July 13, 2023 【Damages (Medical)】

【Main Issues and Holdings】

[1] The details of a physician’s duty of care in giving medical treatment to a patient and standard for determining the existence of diagnostic negligence

[2] In a case where: even though Orthopedic Surgeon C identified a “spinal epidural hematoma,” etc. by carrying out L-spine MRI on Party B who visited the emergency room of Hospital A for back pain, Orthopedic Surgeon C took a measure to transfer Party B to another medical institution by diagnosing Party B’s symptoms as “spinal stenosis” and “herniated disk”; Party B visited the emergency room of Hospital A again when paralysis was developed in his/her legs and underwent a surgical operation, but his/her legs were paralyzed; Party B and his/her family claimed damages against Hospital A, the case holding that the lower court, which viewed that there is no violation of the duty of care with respect to the method for treatment chosen by Orthopedic Surgeon C, erred and adversely affected the conclusion of judgment by misapprehending the legal doctrine