임산부 사망 관련 민사 소송 판결 분석

Abstract

Purpose: Maternal death imposes significant socioeconomic burdens on bereaved families and medical professionals. However, academic research on civil litigation related to maternal mortality remains limited. This study aims to analyze maternal mortality and associated lawsuits by examining civil court judgment documents. Methods: Using the court library’s individual desktop search system, we searched for the terms “maternal death” and “pregnant women-related death” covering the period from 2009 to 2023. We identified 70 civil court rulings involving lawsuits filed by the families of deceased pregnant women against hospitals or doctors. Results: Civil lawsuits accounted for 11.2% of all maternal deaths, corresponding to 1.25 cases per 100,000 live births. The average duration from the first trial to the final ruling was 1,011.1±438.0 days. The plaintiffs prevailed in 49.2% of final judgments. The average claim amount in the initial trial was 480,362,152±300,110,198 Korean won (KRW), while the average awarded indemnity in the final ruling was 71,019,893.9±123,223,169.0 KRW. Notably, 87.7% of maternal mortality cases involved patients without underlying conditions. Amniotic fluid embolism was the most frequently cited condition in the lawsuits, appearing in 19 cases (29.2%). However, it had the lowest plaintiff success rate at 21.1% and the lowest compensation-to-claim ratio at 1.2%. Conclusion: To mitigate unnecessary litigation and reduce the associated socioeconomic burden, we suggest that the government establish no-fault compensation systems to facilitate mediation between bereaved families and obstetric care providers.