The Supreme Court held discussions on the ruling, indicating it is highly likely the ruling from the second hearing will be reconsidered.
Tokyo:
On Tuesday, Japan's Supreme Court will hand down a ruling on whether the family of a man suffering from dementia should be held responsible and pay damages to a railway company in a case in which the man was hit and killed by a train in Obu, Aichi Prefecture, eight years ago. As at-home nursing care becomes increasingly common, we will take up the issue of dealing with the risk of "dementia accidents." This is the first installment of two-part series.
On the evening of Dec. 7, 2007, a then 91-year-old man disappeared from his home, while his wife, 93, dozed off on the sofa for about six or seven minutes.
About an hour later, the police contacted her to say he had been killed by a train on the JR Tokaido Line at Kyowa Station near the couple's house. The police were able to contact her fairly quickly because a phone number had been sewn onto the man's clothes and hat.
One year later, the man's eldest son, 65, received a certified letter from Central Japan Railway Co. stating: "We demand that the heir pay damages as soon as possible." They said the damages - about 7.2 million Yen (about $63,000)- were for train delays caused by the accident. The letter also said legal action would be taken if payment was not made within 14 days.
"We wanted my father to spend his last days at peace in the home he had lived in for such a long time. We promised that we, as a family, would do whatever we could to make that happen," the eldest son said.
The man began wandering off by himself from August 2005, and was certified in February 2007 as "nursing care level 4," meaning that day-to-day life for him would be difficult without nursing care.
His family considered placing him in a nursing facility. However, when the man had been hospitalized previously because of an injury, he was confused by the changes to his surroundings and ripped blood transfusion tubes out of his arms. The family decided to take care of him at home and resolved to support him together.
The eldest son's wife, who had been living in Yokohama, moved nearby, and together with the man's wife, looked after the elderly man day and night. The eldest son visited on weekends and took the man for walks. The man seemed to be content whenever he saw the desk he was so accustomed to using.
The Civil Code stipulates that when an accident is caused by someone who cannot be held responsible, such as an elderly person suffering from dementia or a child, whoever is responsible for him or her must pay damages.
Although the eldest son questioned whether the family was really responsible when they had done all they could to look after the elderly man, the Nagoya District Court found the man's wife and the eldest son responsible. In the second trial, the Nagoya High Court found the wife responsible, and ordered the damages to be paid.
The Civil Code states that the person responsible for nursing care should not be held responsible in cases where they have committed no fault. However, in dementia cases the criteria for determining whether a person is responsible are unclear.
On Feb. 2, the Supreme Court held discussions on the ruling, indicating it is highly likely the ruling from the second hearing will be reconsidered.
"I hope they will take the realities facing people suffering from dementia and their families into consideration when making the decision," the eldest son said.
"What more was I supposed to do?" a 74-year-old Osaka woman said tearfully as she remembered an evening in April 2013.
On that evening, she left her home for about one hour, leaving behind her then 82-year-old husband, who was suffering from dementia. A fire started near a room on the third floor and spread to the walls of a neighbor's house. After the fire, the husband became weaker and on November 2014 he died at the age of 84.
The fire was said to have been caused by the husband setting alight a scrap of paper with a lighter and throwing it onto a mattress. Although she paid 1 million Yen (about $9,000) in compensation to the neighbor on April 2014, the neighbor sued for an additional 2 million Yen ($18,000) in damages.
At the first trial, the Osaka District Court ruled that the woman was grossly negligent and ordered her to pay around 400,000 Yen (about $3,500). But at the second trial, the Osaka High Court advised the two parties to reach a settlement on the premise that the woman had not committed gross negligence. The neighbor ended up dropping the claims and they reached a settlement.
The woman kept a detailed nursing care diary, and had taken her husband to a psychiatrist regularly. She left the house on the day of the fire because he appeared calm.
"Even though I was saved by the high court, I can't help but blame myself for leaving him by himself that day," she said.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry estimates that the number of elderly people suffering from dementia will rise from the current 5.2 million people to 7 million people by 2025.
During fiscal 2014, there were 29 railroad accidents involving elderly people suffering from dementia. The same year, there were 181 fatal automobile accidents involving dementia sufferers. Cases where compensation becomes an issue are bound to increase.
Shigeto Yonemura, an associate professor of the University of Tokyo and a specialist in civil law, said: "If strong supervision responsibilities are imposed, the strain on families will become too great, but if the bar for exemptions from responsibility is set too low, it will make it difficult for victims to receive help. Should no one be held responsible even in the case of severe damage? As society ages, we should take the Supreme Court's decision as an opportunity to have more in-depth discussions."
© 2016 The Washington Post
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
On the evening of Dec. 7, 2007, a then 91-year-old man disappeared from his home, while his wife, 93, dozed off on the sofa for about six or seven minutes.
About an hour later, the police contacted her to say he had been killed by a train on the JR Tokaido Line at Kyowa Station near the couple's house. The police were able to contact her fairly quickly because a phone number had been sewn onto the man's clothes and hat.
One year later, the man's eldest son, 65, received a certified letter from Central Japan Railway Co. stating: "We demand that the heir pay damages as soon as possible." They said the damages - about 7.2 million Yen (about $63,000)- were for train delays caused by the accident. The letter also said legal action would be taken if payment was not made within 14 days.
"We wanted my father to spend his last days at peace in the home he had lived in for such a long time. We promised that we, as a family, would do whatever we could to make that happen," the eldest son said.
The man began wandering off by himself from August 2005, and was certified in February 2007 as "nursing care level 4," meaning that day-to-day life for him would be difficult without nursing care.
His family considered placing him in a nursing facility. However, when the man had been hospitalized previously because of an injury, he was confused by the changes to his surroundings and ripped blood transfusion tubes out of his arms. The family decided to take care of him at home and resolved to support him together.
The eldest son's wife, who had been living in Yokohama, moved nearby, and together with the man's wife, looked after the elderly man day and night. The eldest son visited on weekends and took the man for walks. The man seemed to be content whenever he saw the desk he was so accustomed to using.
The Civil Code stipulates that when an accident is caused by someone who cannot be held responsible, such as an elderly person suffering from dementia or a child, whoever is responsible for him or her must pay damages.
Although the eldest son questioned whether the family was really responsible when they had done all they could to look after the elderly man, the Nagoya District Court found the man's wife and the eldest son responsible. In the second trial, the Nagoya High Court found the wife responsible, and ordered the damages to be paid.
The Civil Code states that the person responsible for nursing care should not be held responsible in cases where they have committed no fault. However, in dementia cases the criteria for determining whether a person is responsible are unclear.
On Feb. 2, the Supreme Court held discussions on the ruling, indicating it is highly likely the ruling from the second hearing will be reconsidered.
"I hope they will take the realities facing people suffering from dementia and their families into consideration when making the decision," the eldest son said.
"What more was I supposed to do?" a 74-year-old Osaka woman said tearfully as she remembered an evening in April 2013.
On that evening, she left her home for about one hour, leaving behind her then 82-year-old husband, who was suffering from dementia. A fire started near a room on the third floor and spread to the walls of a neighbor's house. After the fire, the husband became weaker and on November 2014 he died at the age of 84.
The fire was said to have been caused by the husband setting alight a scrap of paper with a lighter and throwing it onto a mattress. Although she paid 1 million Yen (about $9,000) in compensation to the neighbor on April 2014, the neighbor sued for an additional 2 million Yen ($18,000) in damages.
At the first trial, the Osaka District Court ruled that the woman was grossly negligent and ordered her to pay around 400,000 Yen (about $3,500). But at the second trial, the Osaka High Court advised the two parties to reach a settlement on the premise that the woman had not committed gross negligence. The neighbor ended up dropping the claims and they reached a settlement.
The woman kept a detailed nursing care diary, and had taken her husband to a psychiatrist regularly. She left the house on the day of the fire because he appeared calm.
"Even though I was saved by the high court, I can't help but blame myself for leaving him by himself that day," she said.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry estimates that the number of elderly people suffering from dementia will rise from the current 5.2 million people to 7 million people by 2025.
During fiscal 2014, there were 29 railroad accidents involving elderly people suffering from dementia. The same year, there were 181 fatal automobile accidents involving dementia sufferers. Cases where compensation becomes an issue are bound to increase.
Shigeto Yonemura, an associate professor of the University of Tokyo and a specialist in civil law, said: "If strong supervision responsibilities are imposed, the strain on families will become too great, but if the bar for exemptions from responsibility is set too low, it will make it difficult for victims to receive help. Should no one be held responsible even in the case of severe damage? As society ages, we should take the Supreme Court's decision as an opportunity to have more in-depth discussions."
© 2016 The Washington Post
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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