Hospital gives girl banned drug

By Xu Fang  |   2008-6-18  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A HOSPITAL in Changning District has been ordered to pay 5,400 yuan (US$783) in compensation to a five-year-old girl after it prescribed a banned medicine for her.

The girl, identified by the pseudonym Xiao Xiao, caught a cold and was taken to the community hospital (whose name was not released by the court) on September 2, 2007. The hospital doctor prescribed an antifever injection for her.

After the injection, the girl did not recover from her illness but felt dizzy, over excited and vomited. Her parents brought her back to the hospital and then discovered the prescribed medicine was not allowed to be given to children.

The girl's parents told the Changning District People's Court the wrong prescription had badly affected the girl's health and could affect her in the long term. They asked for more than 7,000-yuan compensation and the hospital to give her an annual physical medical examination until she was 18.

The defendants argued that the medicine was intended to cure the child as soon as possible because she had been sick for days. An assessment by the district's medical association said the symptoms Xiao Xiao showed could have been the side effect of the medicine. Because the medicine was used only for two days, it would not cause long-term damage to the girl's health, the assessment said.

The court ruled that the hospital should cover the medical costs, some compensation for mental anguish and the lawyer's fee.