In court, the video from "Economy and Law" was played as evidence. Sitting below were the children of the elderly man (left, center). Photo by reporter Fu Zhong.
According to the report by reporter Fu Zhong, when the elderly man's life was in critical condition, the nanny claimed to be his daughter and instructed the hospital to stop resuscitation efforts. The hospital complied without verifying the nanny's identity, which led to the elderly man's death.
As a result, the elderly man's children sued the hospital for compensation. Today, Daxing Court heard the case.
The deceased, Mr. Lou's, children stated that on the morning of October 11, 2008, their father was taken to the Hongxing Hospital in Daxing District by an ambulance due to illness and passed away the next day at dawn. Hongxing Hospital agreed to the request of the accompanying person, Ms. Zhou, to stop intravenous fluids and drug treatment for the elderly man without verifying her identity.
Additionally, the hospital did not document in the medical records the reasons for the patient's deteriorating condition or the methods used to rescue the critically ill patient. They merely provided oxygen and electrocardiographic monitoring, indicating that they did not provide targeted treatment for the patient.
The children believed that due to the hospital's inaction, the treatment opportunity was delayed, and they were unable to see their father one last time before he passed away, causing lifelong regret. Therefore, they filed a lawsuit against the hospital, demanding compensation for funeral expenses, death compensation, and mental damages totaling 500,000 yuan.
In court, the hospital argued that the deceased was 83 years old at the time of his death. The doctor had asked Ms. Zhou about her identity, and she claimed to be the daughter but took her mother's surname. During the treatment process, the doctor repeatedly questioned Ms. Zhou's identity, and she consistently claimed to be the elderly man's daughter. Due to Ms. Zhou's refusal to accept further treatment, it ultimately led to Mr. Lou's death. "Medical institutions only have diagnostic and therapeutic functions; there are no legal provisions or responsibilities to verify identities," said the hospital's representative. She also mentioned that when Mr. Lou was admitted, his condition was severe and required further examination. However, due to Ms. Zhou's refusal to cooperate, the resulting consequences should not be borne by the hospital.
The hospital side believes that according to existing health laws and regulations, there is no legal requirement to review the identities of accompanying individuals. Moreover, on the ambulance, medical staff heard Ms. Zhou shouting, "Dad, wake up!" "When the patient was brought to the hospital for treatment, his vital signs were already very weak. If the family chose to abandon treatment, it would be very consistent with medical ethics," said the hospital's representative.
The video program from "Economy and Law," which had previously reported on the incident, was played in court as evidence. From the video, the reporter learned that the over-50-year-old Ms. Zhou was an elderly man's nanny whom he "found from somewhere." In interviews, Ms. Zhou said that "to take care of the elderly man," she "slept with him."
She also told the TV journalist that the reason she refused further treatment was because she couldn't distinguish between shock and death. "I heard the doctor say the elderly man had been in shock for several minutes, so I thought we shouldn't treat him anymore!" she said.
The elderly man's children stated that after the incident, Ms. Zhou did not proactively inform them of their father's passing. After learning the truth, they discovered that the cash and valuables in the house were missing, the property deed was transferred to the nanny's name, and there were multiple IOUs left by Ms. Zhou.
Ms. Zhou also claimed that the elderly man sold the house to her for 50,000 yuan. It is reported that the elderly man's children have reported Ms. Zhou's actions to the police.