The Ministry of Health will not recommend in vain – Kommersant Saratov

A resident of Volzhskoye, Volgograd Region, went to the Supreme Court (SC) of the Russian Federation with a claim against two hospitals in the region. In 2020, she had her appendix removed eight hours from the moment she was admitted to a medical facility, where they did not want to admit her due to the lack of fluorography and a negative test for coronavirus. According to the plaintiff, the delay caused the pain that she still experiences. The Supreme Court panel examined two examinations carried out at the request of the hospital and the townswoman. The Supreme Court found that the recommendations of the Ministry of Health regarding the timing of emergency operations are mandatory – the defendants tried to challenge this. Consumer rights experts believe that the return of the claim does not mean that the plaintiff will receive the required compensation.

On August 21, the judicial panel for civil cases of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, consisting of presiding Lyudmila Pchelintseva, as well as judges Svetlana Frolkina and Mikhail Zhubrin, considered the cassation appeal of Natalya Borisova, a resident of Volzhsky, Volgograd Region, against the decision of the Volzhsky City Court of the Volgograd Region dated December 21, 2021, the appeal ruling of the Volgograd Regional Court dated June 8, 2022 and the ruling of the judicial panel for civil cases of the Fourth Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction dated November 10 of the same year. The woman filed a claim against the City Hospital No. 2 in Volzhsky and the private healthcare institution Clinical Hospital RZD-Medicine in Volgograd for compensation for moral damages, as well as legal and post-operative treatment costs.

Ms. Borisova appealed to the court of first instance on January 28, 2021.

A resident of Volgograd demanded 100 thousand rubles from both medical institutions. as compensation for moral damage, as well as 7 thousand rubles. for legal services and post-operative treatment.

In court, Natalya Borisova said that on May 25, 2020, she turned to the therapist at City Hospital No. 2 with a complaint about feeling unwell. After examination, the woman was diagnosed and prescribed treatment. On the 28th, her condition worsened, and she called a doctor from the hospital to her home. The therapist diagnosed the patient with peritoneal irritation and referred her for hospitalization with suspected appendicitis. Within an hour after the doctor left, Mrs. Borisova called an ambulance. The paramedic who arrived said that due to the fact that no hospital in Volzhsky could admit her, she would be operated on at RZD-Medicine in Volgograd.

From RZD-Medicine, a resident of Volzhsky was sent for a tomography of the lungs at the Clinical Hospital No. 4, where at 17:00 she was denied an examination without explanation. Then the ambulance took the patient to the first hospital. She stayed there from 17:35 to 20:30 – she was supposed to be taken for a tomography to the tuberculosis dispensary. Only at 20:30, when the car never came for her, she was given a chest x-ray and a rapid test for coronavirus. No pathologies or infections were detected. Natalya Borisova believes that due to delay on the part of RZD-Medicine, the operation was carried out late, as a result of which “her condition worsened, her blood pressure rose, a nervous breakdown began, acute appendicitis turned into a phlegmonous form, which requires immediate surgical intervention, while The appendectomy began only at 23:00” and ended at midnight. Mrs. Borisova was discharged on June 3.

After the belated operation, the resident of Volzhsky “experienced severe pain for a long time”; now the pain remains during movements and physical activity, the plaintiff is forced to undergo rehabilitation.

“RZD-Medicine” requested a forensic medical examination. The study was carried out by the Volgograd Regional Bureau of Forensic Medicine at the end of April 2021, the hospital paid for it, but by decision of the Volzhsky Court, Ms. Borisova was ordered to reimburse the commercial institution 58 thousand rubles. The experts concluded that medical care was provided correctly. When asked by the court about the timing of work with acute patients, the bureau said that the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation only recommends, but does not require, to check the diagnosis within one hour from the moment of admission to the hospital and send it for surgery within two hours. The second and third instances upheld the decision to pay for the research by the plaintiff and refused to pay compensation.

Natalya Borisova presented in court a written explanation from the Volgograd Region Health Committee dated March 11, 2021, which indicated indications for emergency hospitalization in case of suspected acute illness.

The Supreme Court concluded that the recommendations of the Ministry of Health regarding the timing of work with acute patients “are one of the basis for the formation of criteria for assessing the quality of medical care, and therefore the statement that these clinical recommendations are not mandatory is contrary to the law.”

The Judicial Collegium for Civil Cases of the RF Armed Forces declared the decisions of lower authorities illegal and returned Natalya Borisova’s claim against two hospitals for reconsideration to the Volzhsky City Court.

Honored Doctor of the Russian Federation Veniamin Grishaev noted in an interview with Kommersant-Middle Volga that at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, all medical institutions in the country were equipped with tests for this infection. Mr. Grishaev suggested that the delay of doctors can be explained by the tense situation and overwork.

Deputy Chairman of the Saratov regional public organization “Center for the Protection of Consumer Rights” Alexey Suslikov believes that the determination of the Supreme Court will not affect law enforcement practice.

“The turnaround in the case does not mean that (Ms. Borisova – Kommersant-Middle Volga) will win the case.

In our practice, there was only one case where a woman in labor was provided with inadequate care and the child died. She received compensation, and there were 8-10 cases. We talked with colleagues from other regions, it’s the same story, it’s not nonsense. Therefore, we can congratulate this woman – perhaps 58 thousand rubles will not be collected from her. But as compensation for damage, they can give some 3 thousand rubles,” the specialist explained the latter thesis with the 2017 Supreme Court ruling, which allowed the courts to reduce the amount of recovery at their own discretion.

Daria Vasenina