A Beijing restaurant which served contaminated snails to
customers and caused them to contract a parasitic disease is to pay
compensation to those affected. All those admitted to the Beijing
Friendship Hospital will be able to leave by October 1, a doctor
explained.?
To date, Shuguo Yanyi Restaurant has paid compensation of
330,000 yuan (US$41,592) to 27 patients who dined in the restaurant
a month ago and became ill after they'd eaten the contaminated
snails. But this could be just the beginning of the financial
payments. The total amount of compensation could rise to 1.5
million yuan (US$189,000), a restaurant executive said
yesterday.
The Beijing Municipal Health Bureau reported 131 people infected
with a type of angiostrongyliasis. The disease is caused by
parasites and can affect the brain and spinal cord which in turn
can lead to meningitis. The diners involved ate the raw or
undercooked snails on June 24 with 95 of them eating at the Shuguo
Yanyi Restaurant which serves Sichuan-style dishes. The Friendship
Hospital alone had diagnosed 111 cases and admitted 70 patients. No
deaths have been reported.
The restaurant has suffered a huge drop in income and the loss
of customers because of the incident. However, it's apparently
greatly tightened up on kitchen regulations and improved
conditions.?
"It's an embarrassing problem," Chen Youling, the deputy general
manager of the restaurant explained at a press conference Tuesday."
We used to earn over 80,000 yuan (US$10,000) a day but now we can
only earn 10,000 yuan (US$1,260) a day. The loss is so
huge."?
She promised that the first 1.5-million-yuan compensation for
treatment would be paid shortly. But 800,000 yuan (US$100,829) of
it, nearly 70 percent of the initial compensation offer, is for
inaccurate medical diagnosis which led to increased costs. Chen
said it was too much for them to afford so they'd have to raise
money from everywhere.
The highest award so far has been made to a woman surnamed Lü
who received 74,000 yuan (US$9,326) yesterday. She said the actual
treatment costs were only about 18,000 yuan (US$2,268) but the
remainder of money was for changing hospitals and medical
examinations. Compensation for other related issues such as
post-treatment and mental suffering is being discussed.
Ten victims hospitalized at Beijing Friendship Hospital and 20
others at the Beijing Xuanwu TCM Hospital have organized themselves
into two groups to seek compensation. They said Shuguo Yanyi
Restaurant only gave them a rough compensation plan but they want a
detailed outline before September 25 including damages for mental
anguish and the like.
The restaurant says they'll discuss it with patients according
to the condition of individuals and the relevant regulations and
laws.
Although the issue of damages isn't settled all the victims of a
parasitic disease contracted when they ate undercooked snails in
Beijing will leave hospital by October 1, a Beijing Friendship
Hospital doctor told Xinhua News Agency yesterday.
"All the patients will leave hospital before the National Day
and they can also spend the traditional Mid-Autumn Day with their families," said Yin
Chenghong of the hospital's tropical disease institute, "Nearly 50
patients were hospitalized here at one time and many left today and
yesterday." The doctor said ten people were still receiving
treatment but they were recovering well.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Rui September 20, 2006)