According to the report (by reporter Suya Sun), a case of mistaken medication during the treatment of "herniated lumbar disc" at Beijing Jingmin Hospital caused female patient Ms. Wang to lose her bone marrow hematopoietic ability, leading to severe pulmonary infection and death. The medical accident was identified by the Medical Association as a Grade A, Level 3 medical accident. Yesterday, it was reported that the Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court ruled that Beijing Jingmin Hospital should compensate the deceased's family with nearly 900,000 yuan.
In July 2006, female patient Ms. Wang experienced lower back pain. As this pain extended to both legs, affecting her normal walking, she went to Beijing Jingmin Hospital for treatment. On July 19th, after examination, the doctor at Jingmin Hospital diagnosed Ms. Wang with "herniated lumbar disc with stenosis" and decided to give her an intravenous drip, adding a drug called "methotrexate".
The next day, due to a cold making it inconvenient to visit the hospital, Ms. Wang requested to transfer from Beijing Jingmin Hospital to a community health service station for the IV drip. Subsequently, Jingmin Hospital issued a transfer injection certificate, requiring the community health service station to administer the treatment fluid containing the drug "methotrexate" every other day.
A week later, Ms. Wang was admitted to the 301 Hospital due to continuous fever and discharged one month later. The hospital confirmed that Ms. Wang had developed acute hematopoietic dysfunction due to the side effects of "methotrexate". In the following two years, Ms. Wang successively visited Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, 301 Hospital, 304 Hospital, and the General Hospital of the Armed Police Force, but her condition did not improve.
On November 24, 2008, Ms. Wang was admitted to the Aerospace Center Hospital and later transferred to the intensive care unit due to worsening condition. The hospital conducted more than two months of emergency treatment but ultimately failed to save Ms. Wang's life. On February 6, 2009, Ms. Wang was declared dead.
The death certificate issued by the hospital stated that two years before her death, Ms. Wang exhibited symptoms of aplastic anemia; this symptom led to severe pulmonary infection one month before her death; which further resulted in septic shock three days before her death, ultimately failing to be saved. The root cause of Ms. Wang's initial symptoms of aplastic anemia was the injection of the drug "methotrexate" by Jingmin Hospital during the IV drip.
On May 14, 2007, during Ms. Wang's illness, her husband Mr. Fu sued Jingmin Hospital, claiming over 1.3 million yuan in compensation. The Haidian District Medical Association and the City Medical Association conducted a medical malpractice technical appraisal, concluding that it constituted a Grade A, Level 3 medical accident, with the hospital bearing primary responsibility.
The appraisal also showed that Beijing Jingmin Hospital had committed three violations of regulations. First, the hospital violated clinical diagnostic routines by injecting "methotrexate," which has strong toxic side effects, without confirming that Ms. Wang had rheumatoid arthritis. Second, the hospital violated the principle of using "methotrexate" by administering it without checking Ms. Wang's blood routine, which could have potentially led to hematopoietic disorders. Third, the hospital used "methotrexate" without obtaining the signature consent of the patient and her family, violating relevant regulations of medical institutions.
In addition, experts pointed out that Ms. Wang quickly exhibited the side effect of hematopoietic function suppression after using "methotrexate," indicating a causal relationship between the two. Considering that Ms. Wang had suffered from "Sjogren's syndrome" for many years, which might also lead to abnormalities in the blood system, the experts suggested that the court determine responsibility within the compensation range of 40% to 70%.
Ultimately, the court ruled according to the highest compensation ratio of 70% in the appraisal results, ordering Beijing Jingmin Hospital to compensate the family of Ms. Wang with nearly 800,000 yuan in economic losses and 100,000 yuan in mental damage compensation. After the verdict, Ms. Wang's family accepted the ruling and stated that the 70% compensation ratio was the lowest they could accept.