CASE OF GORODOVYCH v. UKRAINE
Violation of Article 3 - Prohibition of torture (Article 3 - Effective investigation) (Procedural aspect)
André Potocki;Ganna Yudkivska;Síofra O’Leary
4. The applicant was born in 1967 and lives in Lviv. 5. Between March 1995 and July 1996 the applicant underwent outpatient treatment for overactive thyroid at the State Oncology Centre in Lviv. She was treated by Dr S. 6. In July 1996 the applicant’s health deteriorated; she was examined at the State Endocrinology Centre in Lviv and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. From 13 November to 10 December 1996 the applicant underwent inpatient treatment for hypothyroidism at the Endocrinology Centre. The applicant told the doctors that her hypothyroidism resulted from the treatment with a radiopharmaceutical, J-131 (radioactive iodine), which Dr S. had administered to her between March 1995 and July 1996. The doctors from the Endocrinology Centre recorded in the applicant’s medical file that the applicant suffered from hypothyroidism resulting from the treatment with radiopharmaceuticals. Eventually, the applicant lost her thyroid and was recognized as suffering from the second highest official degree of disability. 7. On 10 October 1997, at the applicant’s request, Dr S. issued her a certificate stating that throughout 1996 the applicant’s treatment included injections of a radiopharmaceutical, namely radioactive iodine J-131. Dr S. did not specify the dosage or dates on which the applicant had received the injections. 8. In May and June 1998 the applicant complained to the Lviv Department of the Ministry of Health (“the Department”) that the radiopharmaceuticals administered to her by Dr S. had seriously damaged her health. 9. The Department invited the applicant to undergo a medical examination at one of the hospitals in Lviv, however she refused. The Department checked the records of the Oncology Centre and found that they contained no data as regards the applicant’s alleged treatment with radiopharmaceuticals. It was further noted that, according to the applicant’s medical records, between 1995 and 1996 her diagnosis had been unclear. That being the case, the treatment mentioned in the certificate of 10 October 1997 had been inadequate. The Department recommended the Oncology Centre to dismiss Dr S. for that reason. Shortly afterwards Dr S. retired from the Oncology Centre of her own motion. 10. In July 1998 the applicant complained to the Lviv prosecutor’s office that Dr S. had treated her with J-131, that the treatment had been inadequate and that it had destroyed her thyroid. To support her complaint, the applicant submitted the certificate of 10 October 1997. 11. In January 1999 an official investigation was launched into the applicant’s complaint which was carried out initially by the prosecutors and later by the police. In the course of the investigation the applicant, Dr S. and a number of other persons were questioned. Also, several forensic examinations were performed. A number of decisions were taken rejecting the applicant’s complaint principally for the reason that, according to the forensic reports, it was impossible to establish the cause of the destruction of the applicant’s thyroid. Those decisions were eventually quashed for incomplete investigation. The most recent decision in that regard was taken by the Frankivskyy District Court in Lviv on 18 January 2016, by which it instructed the police to carry out further investigation in the applicant’s case, finding inter alia that the police had failed to examine all pertinent evidence and that an additional forensic examination was necessary. The investigation has not been completed to date.