Kindhearted drugstore owner wins support of court

Shenyang Municipal Intermediate People's Court on Tuesday dismissed an appeal against a drugstore owner who accidentally broke 12 ribs of a senior woman when doing cardiopulmonary resuscitation for her.

The 70-year-old lady surnamed Qi came to the drugstore for help, because she was short of breath in 2017.

The old lady then suddenly fainted without breathing or heartbeat, and the store owner Sun Xiangbo, who holds a medical license and rural doctor certificate, called an ambulance immediately and performed CPR for the lady.

Sun said the CPR was carried out in accordance with first aid regulations.

After around 10 minutes of emergency treatment, the woman regained consciousness and was able to move. The ambulance then arrived and took her to the hospital.

However, the examination at the hospital later found Qi had 12 rib fractures and a right lung contusion. The 18-day treatment at the hospital cost her nearly 10,000 yuan.

One month after the emergency, Sun was charged by the lady for injuries caused by improper first aid and asked for compensation for health damage and medical expenses.

According to the hearing at Shenyang Municipal Intermediate People's Court in 2018, medical experts held that Sun's implementation of CPR did not violate the diagnosis and treatment standards, and Sun should not bear the legal liability of any fault occurring in the rescue.

"I'm very pleased with the court's judgment. As a doctor with a qualified certificate, I will definitely save people in similar emergencies in the future. But I will keep the surveillance video for self-protection," said Sun.

Medical experts said that CPR can very easily cause fractures, but the top priority in such cases is to save lives.

"The judgment is of great significance in encouraging people to strive for excellence and virtue. It will also benefit the public, if the case can be further researched by the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic China as an example," said Ao Yang, lawyer of the Liaoning Liangyou law firm.

Li Dingdian contributed to the story