Yangcheng Evening News report by reporter Huang Ling: 45-year-old man from Humen, Dongguan, Wan Guangxiang was hospitalized with severe injuries to his left leg. After nearly 3 months in the intensive care unit of the太平 People's Hospital of Dongguan, he passed away on February 3rd. The family believes that Wan Guangxiang's death was due to major errors by the doctors and holds the hospital fully responsible. Based on this, they are claiming 8 million yuan in compensation. The太平 People's Hospital admitted that there were insufficient evaluations before and during the surgery, but such a large amount of compensation has no legal basis. They suggest that the family resolve the matter through medical malpractice identification or judicial means.
In the medical dispute, should the doctor be held responsible? Is it possible to obtain 8 million yuan in compensation? Attorney Xu Honghui from Guangdong Grey Brothers Law Firm stated that 8 million yuan in compensation is too high and impossible to obtain. According to him, the state has very clear regulations regarding compensation for medical disputes. To his knowledge, the highest compensation paid for a medical dispute has not exceeded 1 million yuan.
Around 10 a.m. on November 9th, 2011, 45-year-old Wan Guangxiang had his left lower limb crushed by a load weighing one to two tons, causing pain, deformity, and restricted movement in his left lower limb. At 11:58 a.m., Wan Guangxiang was transferred from Humen Hospital to the太平 People's Hospital. Due to the severity of his condition, surgery began 20 minutes later and lasted until 10 p.m., after which he was transferred to the central ICU for further treatment. Subsequently, Wan Guangxiang remained in the ICU. At 7:45 p.m. on February 3rd, 2012, his heartbeat stopped, and despite resuscitation efforts, he ultimately passed away.
The family believes that there were evaluation deficiencies and operational errors during the entire surgical process and holds the hospital fully responsible. Ms. Zhang stated that apart from the hospital covering the aftermath costs and all medical expenses, they also demand that each of the four doctors involved in the surgery pay 1 million yuan, and each of the eight auxiliary medical staff involved in the surgery pay 500 thousand yuan, totaling 8 million yuan. "My husband was the breadwinner of the family. With two children in school and me unable to work, we're demanding such high compensation to punish these individuals."
At the same time, Attorney Xu pointed out that doctors' actions when treating patients are official duties. Even if there are disputes, the hospital is the first responsible party, not the doctors.
From the start of Wan Guangxiang's death until the afternoon of February 5th when the reporter interviewed, this medical dispute continued. In the absence of an agreement between the family of Wan Guangxiang and the hospital, measures such as placing incense burners and lighting candles at the entrance of the hospital lobby and emergency department, burning paper money, and putting up banners were taken to pressure the hospital.
Regarding the family's doubts about major errors during the surgery, the太平 People's Hospital responded that the hospital has always attached great importance to the patient. They invited experts multiple times for consultations and conducted joint ward rounds daily to determine the treatment plan. However, the hospital also admitted existing problems: insufficient preoperative notification; inadequate preoperative and intraoperative evaluations; and insufficient communication with the family during the operation.