Nursing home staff sent to prosecutors over improper disposal of patient's amputated leg

Authorities in Incheon, South Korea, have forwarded three nursing home employees to prosecutors in connection with the improper disposal of a patient's amputated leg. The incident involves a head nurse, a nursing assistant, and a volunteer from a local nursing hospital, who are accused of violating waste management laws. According to police, the employees allegedly amputated the leg of an 80-year-old patient suffering from severe necrosis on June 8. Instead of using a dedicated container for tissue waste, they reportedly placed the leg in a general medical waste bin and failed to store it in refrigeration. Tissue waste, which includes human body parts, organs, and blood from medical institutions, is subject to stringent management protocols. A volunteer is accused of mistakenly placing the amputated leg into a recycling bag, reportedly believing it to be discarded plaster cast material. The police have also implicated the hospital's medical corporation in the case. While the hospital staff are being investigated for the improper disposal, the doctor who performed the surgery is not being charged. Police cited that the surgery was conducted in a hospital room, not an operating room, and was deemed a medical act by a licensed physician, for which there is no specific penalty under the Medical Service Act. The patient's leg was discovered on June 10 at a regional waste recovery facility in Songdo-dong, Incheon.