
[Photo/IC]
Erroneous switch, failure to vaccinate son, who has cancer, factor into ruling
A hospital in Henan province was ordered by a court to pay more than 760,000 yuan ($116,400) in compensation to a couple after mistakenly giving them the wrong baby 28 years ago, and it also should take some responsibility for their biological child's illness.
The order was made by the Gulou District People's Court in Kaifeng, Henan, in a ruling issued on Monday.
The ruling stated that the Huaihe Hospital of Henan University made a big mistake while caring for newborns in 1992 and had some irregularities in its hepatitis B vaccinations at that time.
The court demanded the hospital pay 400,000 yuan for the family's mental anguish over the separation from their biological child as well as more than 360,000 yuan to cover medical and other expenses incurred by Yao Ce, the couple's 28-year-old son who was diagnosed with hepatitis B at the age of 2 and end-stage liver cancer in February.
Zhou Zhaocheng, the family's lawyer, said after the ruling that his clients accepted the result, even though the amount of compensation was not as much as they sought.
"It's good to see the court supported us, identifying the hospital's work error that caused Yao to be switched with another boy at birth 28 years ago," Zhou said.
"Meanwhile, we felt we got justice when the court also ruled that the hospital should be 60 percent liable for Yao's liver cancer due to its previous vaccination mistake."
Considering Yao's physical condition and economic burden, the lawyer added he will help him apply for a procedure that would release the compensation more quickly.
"If so, my client can get parts of the compensation in a timely manner to ensure his medical treatment, regardless of whether the hospital decides to appeal to a higher court," he explained.
A hospital official told Beijing News on Monday that the hospital would accept and respect the ruling.
The case triggered widespread attention in April when Beijing News reported that a woman surnamed Xu, from Jiangxi province, found out that Yao, the person she had been raising for 28 years, was not her biological child, when she tried to donate her liver to save the cancer-stricken man.
Given that Yao's condition was getting worse, Xu, with her husband, talked to the newspaper about her quest to find Yao's biological parents in the hope that the couple could help him with a liver transplant.
Xu went to the hospital in Henan where she gave birth and discovered the hospital mistakenly gave her the wrong baby in June 1992.
With the aid of local police, she found out who Yao's biological parents were-Guo Xikuan and Du Xinzhi-and learned about her biological son, an auxiliary police officer in Henan.
But the joy of the reunion was quickly diluted by reality.
Guo and Du have a daughter with a mental illness, and Du-Yao's biological mother, who is also a hepatitis B carrier-was undergoing chemotherapy due to liver cancer.
Because Du is a carrier, Yao was supposed to be given a high-dosage hepatitis B vaccine shortly after birth, but the vaccine was incorrectly administered to Xu's healthy son instead.
Xu said she believes the fact that Yao didn't get that vaccination led to his liver cancer at such a young age, according to a report of China Global Television Network in April.
Yao and his biological parents negotiated the compensation amount with the hospital at first but filed a lawsuit after negotiations failed.
The court heard the case in September.
邵阳法律咨询律师事务所(www.tieqiaolawyer.com/falvzixun)提供邵阳市法律咨询24小时在线免费咨询
农村宅基地纠纷解决途径有哪些呢?
2025/4/3 69征收补偿"一把尺子量到底"!量你家的这把尺子,刻度清晰吗?
2025/4/3 64聚焦党的二十大 | 炜衡律师事务所党委坚持“三度” 推进党的二十大精神走深走细走实
2025/4/3 59·【国家立法动态】《机动车登记规定》实施10天平稳顺利 小客车登记全国“一…
2025/4/3 74股票质押的债权止损必知4要点
2025/4/3 69教育培训合同如何约定避免歧义——蒋某某与某教育培训中心教育培训合同纠
2025/4/3 68木垒县法院:牢记使命永不放弃,十年积压案件终于审
2025/4/3 74民间借贷纠纷应怎样认定处理
2025/4/3 79发明专利申请优先审查管理办法
2025/4/3 64协议离婚后就财产分割问题反悔,应在什么时间内请求撤销?
2025/4/3 64基本建设财务规则
2025/4/3 68出席《郭翔教授八十寿辰暨学术思想与学术活动座谈会》
2025/4/3 61圣运简讯:诉讼胜山西省运城市国土资源局
2025/4/3 60德恒发布《中国反垄断法》7月期
2025/4/3 66