Nursing Home Under Investigation After Severed Leg Found in Recycling Facility

Authorities in Incheon, South Korea, are investigating a nursing home after a severed human leg was discovered in a recycling facility. The leg, belonging to an 89-year-old female patient at a local nursing home, was amputated due to severe necrosis and was mistakenly disposed of as regular trash instead of being treated as medical waste.

According to the Yeon-su Police Station, the patient had been admitted to the nursing home on May 1. Her condition had deteriorated significantly, with her leg suffering from advanced necrosis. Medical staff performed the amputation in a hospital room, as the facility lacks a dedicated operating theater. The amputated limb was reportedly wrapped in bandages and placed in a medical waste bag.

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The patient was admitted to a large hospital but could no longer receive treatment, so the guardian brought her here. As her condition worsened and no other hospital would accept her, the guardian earnestly requested admission and a leg surgery at this nursing home.

The incident took a bizarre turn when a hospital volunteer, a man in his 60s, reportedly mistook the medical waste bag for a container of plaster casts. He then transferred the leg into a recycling bag. Security camera footage from the hospital captured the volunteer moving the leg. This misidentified waste was then collected by a recycling company and transported to a sorting facility in Yeon-su district, where employees discovered the human limb.

Following media reports, the nursing home suspected its waste disposal practices were involved. After reviewing internal CCTV footage, the facility reported the incident to the police on May 17. Initially, police treated the case as a potential violent crime, forming a 102-member task force. However, upon confirmation of the nursing home's accidental mis-disposal, the investigation shifted to focus on potential violations of the Waste Management Act and the Medical Service Act by the facility. Police are currently conducting internal investigations into the waste management violations and consulting experts regarding potential medical law breaches.

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We have secured statements that the guardian earnestly requested admission and a leg surgery at this nursing home.