A HOSPITAL in Nanshan District reached an agreement with a patient for compensation Monday, marking the city s first successful arbitration of a medical dispute.
The unidentified hospital agreed to compensate a woman, identified as Zhu, 60,000 yuan (US$9,133) for a failed surgical procedure last year. Zhu said she was satisfied with the result, yesterday s Daily Sunshine reported.
Zhu had a hysterectomy at the hospital June 28 and was discharged one week later. She later went to the hospital complaining of a problem caused by the surgery. She underwent another operation to correct the problem Sept. 18 and fully recovered, the arbitration commission said.
Because of the first operation, Zhu had vaginal fistula, so she demanded the hospital pay her 90,000 yuan in compensation for medical treatment, loss of work time and mental trauma, said Zhu s lawyer, Zhong Yongjun.
Zhu filed a complaint with the city s medical dispute arbitration commission in January and the hospital agreed to arbitration in February. It took about two months to hear the case, much quicker than court action, the newspaper said.
The commission was established in October last year. Another hearing was expected to end soon. There are 24 members of the commission, including 13 with medical licenses, three legal medical experts and several lawyers.
It was quicker and cost much less than going to the court. Unlike the heated exchanges in a courtroom, it was more like a meeting with both sides sitting down and talking peacefully, Chen Xueming, a member of the commission, told the paper.
(Wang Yuanyuan)
