Mr. Zhang from Liuyang, Changsha, Hunan Province, did not have cancer but had his gallbladder removed by the hospital and underwent chemotherapy three times, resulting in the partial removal of his liver, leading to being assessed as a level nine disability. The hospital was recently ordered to pay over 570,000 yuan in compensation. This news made it to the top searches on Baidu on February 27.
According to news from The Paper on February 26, Mr. Zhang had no prior health issues. In October 2014, during a routine physical examination, a “liver mass for 7 days” was discovered, prompting him to seek medical evaluation at the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University in Changsha. Doctors suspected it was liver cancer, but after surgery to investigate, it was confirmed that Mr. Zhang only had a hemangioma and no malignant tumor. However, doctors still proceeded with anti-tumor treatment on Mr. Zhang, implanting a chemotherapy pump in his abdomen and removing his gallbladder. Following this, Mr. Zhang underwent three rounds of chemotherapy as per the instructions of his attending physician Liu Xiangfeng. Over a year later, Mr. Zhang had to undergo the partial removal of his liver and the removal of the chemotherapy pump, leading to being assessed as a level nine disability.
Mr. Zhang told The Paper that there were signatures of three doctors on his surgical records, with Liu Guoli listed first, followed by Liu Xiangfeng.
In August 2022, after Liu Xiangfeng was suspected of serious violations and investigated, Mr. Zhang realized that there might have been issues with his treatment at the Second Xiangya Hospital.
On April 24, 2024, Mr. Zhang filed a civil lawsuit against the Furong District Court in Changsha. On October 31, the Changsha Intermediate Court sentenced Liu Xiangfeng to 17 years in prison for the crimes of intentional harm, bribery, non-state employee bribery, and embezzlement of duty.
The court determined that during his tenure at the Second Xiangya Hospital, Liu Xiangfeng, in order to obtain additional surgical fees, either alone or in collusion with co-defendant Luo Yuandeng, exaggerated patients’ conditions and fabricated symptoms, leading to surgeries on six patients without relevant surgical indications, resulting in severe injuries for five patients, level nine disabilities for one, and minor injuries for one.
In January 2025, the Furong District Court in Changsha ruled that the Second Xiangya Hospital should compensate Mr. Zhang for all losses resulting from medical treatment. The court ordered the defendant, Central South University Second Xiangya Hospital, to compensate Mr. Zhang a total of 572,044.77 yuan and provide him with a mental distress solatium of 20,000 yuan.
As for Liu Guoli, who signed first on Mr. Zhang’s surgical records, he told The Paper that he did not participate in Mr. Zhang’s surgery that year. He merely signed the surgical records as the ward’s responsible doctor. He stated, “I did not perform this surgery. If it had been me, the hospital would have contacted me. I just signed as the responsible doctor of the department. According to hospital rules, my name is listed first for all surgeries.”
However, Liu Guoli’s explanation did not receive approval from netizens.
“Gu Zhu Ya Feng” stated, “Regardless of whether he participated in the surgery, once you sign, you bear responsibility, including supervisory responsibility. Otherwise, why sign? To divide money?”
“Xiang Yan Zhi Wei Yan Yu” also commented, “He is the leader of the department, the primary responsible person, how can he not take responsibility?”
“Laojiu881224” believed, “The significance of signing is that you are responsible for the document. ”
In China, according to the degree of physical injury, disabilities are classified into ten levels, with the ninth level being described as: able to take care of oneself, with slightly restricted labor capacity, and involving mild damage to some organ functions.