Samitivej found guilty in death of woman and her unborn child

Daily Xpress

The Court of Appeals yesterday ordered Samitivej Plc to pay Bt10.33 million in compensation for the death of a female patient.

Jureerat Sereeyothin, then 36, died on September 8, 1995, while she was preparing to give birth to her fourth child at Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital.

Her family has been suing Samitivej Plc, which owns the hospital, hospital director Dr Kriangkrai Akarawong, anaesthesiologist Supak Janjampee and Dr Chalat Tujinda, who was in charge of Jureerat's case.

The family had demanded Bt700 million in compensation.

Jureerat had worked as the finance manager at a fishing-net factory owned by her husband.

In the affidavit, the family said the hospital's failure to provide proper treatment to Jureerat resulted in her death. With amniotic fluid entering her blood vessels and lungs, she had difficulty breathing and finally succumbed to heart failure.

The lower court earlier dismissed the case against Samitivej and its doctors on grounds there was no solid evidence to prove that the doctors' service caused Jureerat's death.

Ruling overturned

The Court of Appeals overturned the lower court's ruling. It stated that the hospital's doctors failed to provide proper treatment, causing the deaths of Jureerat and her fourth child.

Although it ruled in favour of Jureerat's family, the court felt the compensation sought by the family was too high.

It ordered Samitivej Hospital and relevant doctors to pay just Bt10.33 million in compensation to the family plus interest of 7.5 per cent a year.