Two hospitals were ordered by Luohu District People's Court to pay nearly 240,000 yuan (US$35,820) in compensation to a woman who had been mistakenly treated for breast cancer, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.
Gao Riyue, 54, said she was happy with the ruling after a four-year battle with Shenzhen People's Hospital and the Guangzhou-based Zhongshan University Cancer Center.
The two hospitals said they were disappointed and have appealed to the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court over the ruling.
Gao was diagnosed with breast cancer at the Shenzhen hospital 10 years ago and underwent surgery and chemotherapy at the Guangzhou hospital in November 2000. But four years ago, she discovered that the sample that had tested positive for cancer did not belong to her, the Daily said.
Independent tests by the medical school of Fudan University in Shanghai confirmed that Gao didn't have breast cancer.
Gao took the hospitals to court after they refuted the claim. "It's been a long time and I'm worn out," Gao told the Daily.
She said the misdiagnosis and treatment had caused her "tremendous trauma" over the past few years. Her husband divorced her in 2005.
