Used Syringe Stabbed Again... Court 'Discipline Justified'

[Financial News] A court has ruled that the disciplinary action against a doctor who mistakenly reused a used syringe on another patient, thinking it was a new one, is justified.
According to the legal community on the 13th, the Seoul Administrative Court's 5th Division (Chief Judge Lee Jeong-won) ruled against the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by a private practitioner, Mr. A, against the Minister of Health and Welfare, seeking to cancel the suspension of his medical license.
Mr. A, who operates a private clinic in Cheongju, Chungbuk, mistakenly used a syringe that had been used on another patient on patient B, who visited for a COVID-19 vaccination in August 2021.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare suspended Mr. A's medical license for six months for violating medical law regulations related to the 'prohibition of reuse of disposable medical devices.' Later, considering that Mr. A and Mr. B agreed to a settlement of 5.1 million won following the decision of the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency, the suspension was reduced to three months, but Mr. A filed a lawsuit to cancel the suspension.
Mr. A argued that it did not fall under the 'reuse of disposable syringes' regulated by medical law. He continued this argument based on the use of a needle from an empty syringe without injection fluid and his simple mistake, not intentional.
However, the court's judgment was different. The court explained, "The reuse of disposable syringes poses a significant threat to the life and health of the public," and "since the needle of a syringe used once for COVID-19 vaccination was mistakenly injected into Mr. B's arm, it violated medical law by reusing disposable medical devices such as syringes and needles."
Regarding the use of a needle from an empty syringe without injection fluid claimed by the plaintiff, the court stated, "Even if such an accident causes significant harm to life or body, it cannot be sanctioned, so the plaintiff's claim is groundless," and did not accept Mr. A's argument.
Regarding intentionality, the court ruled, "Regardless of whether it was intentional or negligent, reusing a disposable syringe to contact a patient's body poses a risk of infection, threatening the patient's life and health, and significantly undermining medical order, thus necessitating strict sanctions."

theknight@fnnews.com Jeong Kyung-soo Reporter