Hua Cam Tu, a 39-year-old woman who lost both kidneys in a medical malpractice case at the Can Tho City General Hospital in 2011, has taken legal action against the hospital.

According to the complaint, Tu, who got a kidney transplant in July 2012, demanded that the hospital compensate her for total damage of VND377 million (US$18,120), including lost income and mental compensation. The above amount does not include expenses incurred by her relatives during the process of taking care of her at the hospital, Tu said, adding that she will have an additional claim for the costs. On behalf of Tu, lawyer Le Quang Vu, from the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, submitted the woman’s complaint to Can Tho’s Ninh Kieu District on Wednesday, and judge Nguyen Hoang De of the court has issued a notice of receipt of the complaint. The lawyer said the total amount of about VND500 million ($24,000) that the hospital has spent on expenses related to Tu’s treatment after the malpractice case cannot be considered compensation. Nguyen Thien Tri, Tu’s husband, said that his family decided to sue the hospital for compensation since it has been inconsistent in paying the monthly VND3 million (US$144) allowance to Tu. Last year the hospital paid VND6 million per month as allowance to Tu and her three children, but the amount has been cut to VND3 million since September 2012, Tri said. “Suddenly, in late May they [the hospital] announced they would stop giving the monthly allowance, but recently they said they will pay it for June. I don’t know if they will continue giving the allowance to my wife in the future.”  Tri said if his wife wins the lawsuit and receives the compensation, he will deposit the amount into a bank and will spend monthly interest on Tu’s convalescence and his children’s tuition. Tri said he has to spend nearly all of his time every day taking care of Tu, who is suffering from complications after the transplant and is taking medicine to survive. Meanwhile, all three of their children are currently in school. “The thing I want the most now is for my wife recover soon so that I can put my mind to rest and seek extra work,” Tri said. As previously reported, Tu underwent a laparoscopic surgery at the Can Tho Hospital on December 6, 2011 after being diagnosed with hydronephrosis of the left kidney, which is an enlargement due to urinary tract obstruction. Dr. Tran Van Nguyen, head of the surgical team, was operating on the left kidney when he mistakenly ‘touched’ the right kidney and caused severe bleeding that could not be stopped. Nguyen said his team had no choice but to remove both kidneys to save Tu’s life, since she had horseshoe kidneys, a very rare kind of kidney, which made it difficult to stop the severe bleeding. Nguyen was suspended after his mistake and pledged to bear all expenses on dialysis until Tu could have a kidney transplant, a procedure which took place on July 10, 2012.