A 40-year-old man who had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Ishikawa Prefecture died of economy class syndrome after his body was restrained in a bed, and his parents sued the hospital. The Kanazawa branch of the court ordered the hospital to compensate about 35 million yen, contrary to the first instance, saying that "it cannot be said that there was no other way."
Four years ago, in 2016, Kazuya Ohata (40 at the time), who was admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Ishikawa prefecture for lack of sleep and physical and mental disorders, developed economy class syndrome after being detained in bed for 6 days. Ohata's parents filed a lawsuit seeking compensation from the social welfare corporation "Kanazawa Citizens' Association," which operates the hospital.
The Kanazawa District Court in the first instance dismissed the complaint, saying that "the judgment of the doctor who admitted the detention was rational," and the parents appealed.
In the judgment of the second trial on the 16th, Judge Toshiharu Hasui of the Kanazawa Branch of the Nagoya High Court said, "The dead man is taking medicine without refusing, and other medical treatments such as temporary allocation of personnel. It cannot be said that there was no way. The doctor who admitted the physical restraint made a decision too early. "
On top of that, contrary to the first instance, I ordered the hospital to compensate about 35 million yen.
Male parents "without physical restraint"
After the decision, the male parents held a press conference in Kanazawa, and his father said, "I felt angry again that the decision of the first instance had been issued without careful consideration. My son, who was so kind, was tied up. I can't forgive it when I think about it. I want you to eliminate the physical restraint of psychiatric care. "
Hospital side "I take it seriously"
The social welfare corporation "Kanazawa Citizens' Association", which operates the psychiatric hospital "Tokiwa Hospital" in Nonoichi City, Ishikawa Prefecture, where a man was hospitalized after receiving the judgment, said, "We will take the result of the trial seriously. We will confirm and discuss future measures. "
Increasing physical restraint cases of death
"Physical restraint" is a temporary medical measure to prevent self-harm or harm to other patients.
The number of patients undergoing "physical restraint" is increasing in psychiatric wards nationwide, and according to the "National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry", there were 11,362 as of June, and 5,109 in June 2003. It is more than doubled compared to.
According to Professor Toshio Hasegawa of Kyorin University, who has been supporting the plaintiffs in this trial in detail about the issues related to psychiatry, there have been cases where patients died due to developing economy class syndrome during or immediately after detention. , It means that we have grasped 12 deaths nationwide since 2013.