The Inter-American Court of Human Rights found violations of the rights to health, life, personal integrity, access to information, and informed consent in a case brought against Chile by the family of Vinicio Poblete Vilches, an older patient who was deprived of adequate emergency medical treatment by a public hospital preceding his death.
The Court ordered a number of remedies, requiring Chile to: 1) publish the judgment and publicly recognize its responsibility; 2) provide specific psychological support to the family members; 3) increase training, improve infrastructure, monitor compliance, and take specific measures to strengthen institutional support for older people; and 4) pay compensation for lost income, medical costs, and emotional distress, as well as attorney’s fees and costs. The Court did not re-order the opening of the criminal case because the passage of time limited the state’s ability to respond effectively in a punitive process.
As of May 2019, just over a year after the Court’s ruling, the Chilean state had published and publicized the judgment as ordered, but it had yet to comply with the compensatory, non-repetition, and other remedies established.
For the first time, the Inter-American Court declared a violation of the autonomous right to health recognized within the economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights protected by Article 26 of the American Convention. This recognition can contribute to further clarifying state obligations, defining rights more accurately, and providing an avenue to relief for the right to health in the Americas. Furthermore, the Court re-affirmed the rights of patients and their families to informed consent when seeking medical care, noting their relationship with the rights to access information and to health. Finally, the decision establishes a heightened state duty of care concerning the health rights of older persons.
For their contributions, special thanks to ESCR-Net member: the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) at Northeastern University.
