Family Blames Lack of Medical Interpreters in Young Woman’s Death

The young woman known as Ms. Kim, 36, had been undergoing chemotherapy for stomach cancer before she died. Her family says that they made several requests for an interpreter during those treatments, but hospital staff said that no one was available. Her family also said that on another occasion, Kim had scheduled an appointment to see her doctor, but waited all morning for a Korean-language interpreter. When no one arrived, Kim left the hospital without seeing her doctor.

Relatives say that when Kim was discharged from the hospital in 2005, she was coerced by hospital staff into signing a document that essentially terminated further treatment. Kim's illness worsened when she returned home. She returned to the hospital five months after her discharge, this time accompanied by an interpreter, who then explained to Kim that she had signed an agreement ending all treatment.