Court increases compensation for cancer patient switched at birth

Terminal liver cancer patient Yao Ce and his biological parents have been awarded more than 1 million yuan ($155,000) in compensation after a court in Henan province said a local hospital switched Yao with another child by mistake 28 years ago and should take more responsibility for his illness.

The compensation ordered by the Kaifeng Intermediate People's Court on Monday was about 300,000 yuan more than that given by a lower court in the city last year.

In December, the Gulou District People's Court ruled that the Huaihe Hospital of Henan University made a big mistake while caring for newborns in 1992 and there had been irregularities in its hepatitis B vaccinations at that time.

The district court demanded the hospital pay 400,000 yuan for the family's mental anguish over the separation from their biological child as well as more than 360,000 yuan to cover medical and other expenses incurred by Yao, 28, who was diagnosed with hepatitis B at the age of 2 and end-stage liver cancer early last year.

Yao and his parents appealed to the intermediate court for higher compensation.

Although the intermediate court upheld the amount of money for the family's mental anguish in Monday's ruling, it said full consideration of Yao's physical condition led to its decision to increase the amount related to his medical expenses.

Yao and his parents were not present in the courtroom on Monday, as the couple have to look after Yao, whose physical condition has deteriorated since January in a hospital in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

Before the intermediate court announced the ruling, Yao told media he would respect and accept any result without further appeal, adding that any amount of compensation meant nothing to him, as his life is withering away.

Zhou Zhaocheng, the family's lawyer, welcomed the increased compensation, even though the total amount was less than they had sought.

"It's good to see judges increase the compensation for Yao's medical fees, which shows the court solved the case in a humane manner," Zhou said, adding that the hospital also accepted the ruling.

The case aroused huge attention in April when Beijing News reported that a woman surnamed Xu, from Jiangxi province, had found out that Yao, who she had been raising for 28 years, was not her biological son after trying to donate her liver to save his life.

Xu later went to Henan and found Yao's biological parents because she wanted the couple to help him with a liver transplant. They also discovered the provincial hospital where both babies were born mistakenly switched them in 1992.

Yao's biological mother is also a hepatitis B carrier, so Yao was supposed to be given a high-dosage hepatitis B vaccine shortly after his birth. But the vaccine was incorrectly administered to Xu's healthy son instead.

After failing to negotiate a compensation deal with the hospital, Yao and his biological parents initiated their lawsuit.