A court in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky has ordered the Kamchatka Krai Children's Hospital to pay three million rubles in compensation to a local resident after his five-year-old son died during treatment for leukemia.
The judicial ruling follows the criminal conviction of the boy's treating physician. The court found the doctor guilty of causing death by negligence due to improper execution of professional duties under Part 2 of Article 109 of the Russian Criminal Code, according to news agency TASS.
The treating physician lacked the required medical education to manage pediatric cancer cases, Telegram channel Amur Mash reported. Investigators also established that the hospital completely lacked the specialized medical equipment necessary to treat children suffering from oncological diseases.
Medical treatment and fatal failure
The child was diagnosed with leukemia in January 2019, according to information provided by the court. Following the diagnosis, the five-year-old boy remained in the regional children's hospital for three months to undergo medical treatment.
When the child experienced a critical deterioration in his health, the attending doctor failed to conduct required replacement therapy. The lack of intervention caused hemorrhagic syndrome to progress, leading directly to the boy's death, TASS reported.
Regional medical facilities and legal framework
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is the administrative, economic and cultural centre of Kamchatka Krai, a peninsula located in the Russian Far East. Due to the geography of the region, residents rely on the Kamchatka Krai Children's Hospital as the principal medical institution for specialized pediatric care.
Leukemia is a malignant disease affecting the body's blood-forming tissues and bone marrow. Effective management of pediatric leukemia requires constant clinical oversight, proper equipment, and trained specialists capable of identifying and treating acute complications.
Replacement therapy, including blood and platelet transfusions, is a critical emergency procedure used to treat hemorrhagic syndrome, a severe bleeding disorder that can develop in leukemia patients when clotting functions fail.
Part 2 of Article 109 of the Russian Criminal Code establishes criminal liability for individuals whose negligent failure to perform professional responsibilities results in a person's death. Civil claims for moral damages allow families in Russia to seek financial restitution from state medical facilities when professional negligence leads to fatal outcomes.
