COURT RULING ON THE DEATH OF MERS PATIENT

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The bereaved family of the last MERS patient in Korea has partially won a lawsuit against the government. The court ruled that at the time the government failed to take appropriate measures to deal with the epidemic, and ordered it to compensate the patient's family.

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The last MERS patient in Korea was a man in his 30s surnamed Kim. He visited Samsung Medical Center in May 2015 to seek treatment for malignant lymphoma and became infected with MERS. Kim contracted the disease from the 14th patient, dubbed the "super spreader," after spending three days in the same ER. About half a year later Kim eventually died. The cause of his death - MERS and malignant lymphoma. His wife filed a lawsuit against the government and the hospitals that treated Kim to demand 300 million won in compensation. After four years of legal battle, a court recognized the government's responsibility in Kim's passing and ordered it to pay 20 million won to his bereaved family. The judges said Kim ended up contracting the contagious disease from the 14th patient because tests on those who had visited the Middle East were either turned down or postponed and investigations into those who were exposed to the virus were not conducted properly. The court also pointed out that the government's response was far from rational." However, the court did not recognize the hospitals' responsibility. Kim's family was frustrated to hear that the government's responsibility had been recognized only partially.

[Soundbite] (DECEASED PATIENT'S SPOUSE) : "It's discouraging to know that the apology I deserved back in 2015 was finally offered to me in 2020 in such a way."

On February 7, the family of another MERS patient lost their lawsuit. The judges said it was difficult to ascertain that the infection could have been prevented if the patient had been tested earlier. With the two courts issuing contrasting rulings, the controversy over the scope of the government's responsibility in handling infectious diseases will likely continue.