Medical negligence in Chile: Minor loses testicle and family demands compensation

Chile. – A family filed a lawsuit against the Municipality of Freire for alleged medical negligence that allegedly caused a minor to lose one of his testicles, in a case dating back to January 2018 and which has reopened the debate on emergency care in family health centers. The incident originated when a 13-year-old boy went to the Family Health Center (Cesfam) in Freire accompanied by his mother, suffering from severe pain in his left testicle. According to the legal action presented, the doctor who initially attended him diagnosed a kidney colic and sent the minor home with instructions to rest, without a thorough evaluation. As the pain persisted, the young man returned to the same Cesfam three days later, where he was only diagnosed with abdominal pain and was requested to undergo tests to rule out kidney stones, leaving without practice an urgent evaluation of the affected area. Faced with a lack of improvement, the mother took the child to the Hernán Henríquez Aravena Hospital, where he was finally diagnosed with testicular torsion, a condition that demands immediate surgical intervention to save the organ. Due to the delay in diagnosis, the child had to undergo surgery and the affected testicle was removed.

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The family’s lawyer, Dionisio Ulloa Berrocal, explained that the event caused the young man moral damages and consequences to his reproductive health, in addition to truncating his sporting career, since the minor was an outstanding cyclist and member of the Promesas Chile program between 2018 and 2019. As a result, the family is demanding compensation of 140 million Chilean pesos, arguing the lack of adequate service on the part of the Cesfam in the care provided to the minor. The local authorities and relevant health services have been notified of the case, which is under judicial review to determine responsibilities and measures to be taken in cases of failed primary care.