Medical chiefs to discuss compensation over acid death
The Social Security Office (SSO) medical board will next month consider whether to approve compensation of up to Bt400,000 to the family of 38-year-old acid victim Chorladda Tharawan.
She died at the second hospital she was taken to after allegedly being refused treatment at Praram 2 Hospital in Bangkok, said SSO Secretary-General Ananchai Uthaipattanacheep on Thursday.
Chorladda's family filed a request in Khon Kaen.
This board will examine if the death was caused by poor medical treatment.
Anachai said Praram 2 might be removed from the SSO system.
The Health Service Support Department (HSSD) probe, which reported earlier this week, was unclear if the private hospital denied treatment to the patient. The SSO had asked the HSSD for an answer, Anachai said.
On November 9, Chorladda was attacked with acid by her husband, who was later arrested.
She and her 12-year-old daughter arrived at Praram 2 in a taxi at dawn with acid burns on her face and neck. But she left soon after in another taxi for Bang Mod Hospital, where she was entitled to free treatment, and where she died.
According to the HSSD, Praram 2 might have committed five legal offences, including a failure to follow guidelines about how to categorise emergency patients and a failure to ensure a proper transfer.
HSSD chief Nattawuth Prasertsiripong said the body would lodge a complaint with the police to bring the case to court. If convicted of all these alleged offences, the operator of Praram 2 Hospital will face both a fine and a jail term. Most of these offences are punishable by a jail term of up to two years, and a maximum fine of Bt40,000.