CA affirms conviction of 2 doctors for death of patient

DAGUPAN CITY — The Court of Appeals has affirmed an earlier decision by a lower court here convicting two doctors for reckless imprudence resulting in the death of a 10-year-old boy in June 2000.

The decision, signed by Associate Justice Martin Villarama Jr. and concurred in by Associate Justices Regalado Maambong and Lucenito Tagle, was promulgated last June 4.

The regional trial court of Dagupan City earlier found Dr. Antonio Cabugao and Dr. Clenio Ynzon guilty beyond reasonable doubt and ordered a jail sentence of four months to four years and two months.

The lower court also ordered Cabugao and Ynzon to pay P100,000 as actual damages, P1 million as moral damages, and P100,000 as exemplary damages to the victim’s family.

The accused posted bail for their temporary liberty.

Records show that on June 14, 2000, Rodolfo " JR" Palma Jr. complained of abdominal pain to his mother, Rosario Palma. At 5 p.m. of the same day, JR’s parents brought him to Dr. Cabugao’s clinic, where he was given a pain reliever.

The following day, JR was brought back to the Cabugao clinic for the same symptoms. The doctor, reportedly adviced that JR be brought to the Nazareth General Hospital in Dagupan City for confinement.

Dr. Cabugao’s initial findings was acute appendicitis so he referred the victim to Ynzon, a surgeon.

However, until JR died on June 17, both ruled out surgery and merely continued to give the boy antibiotics for spasm and diarrhea.

In filing their respective appeals, the accused said the court erred in holding them responsible for failing to exercise the standard required of doctors in cases like JRs.

But the CA decision ruled that "having initially established massive infection with a high probability of location in the appendix, appellants could have reasonably foreseen the speedy deterioration of an acute appendicitis with fatal consequences in a short span of even just 24 hours..."

The Court merely modified the award of moral damages by reducing it to P500,000.