Wounded Russian soldiers sue hospitals so that they do not return to the front

Wounded Russian servicemen are suing hospitals and military medical commissions to get a certificate of military injury and do not return to the front. “Vyorstka” writes about this, which analyzed the databases of all garrison military courts and found at least 120 similar lawsuits.

With the help of the court, it is possible to obtain the necessary certificate, for example, to receive insurance payments, but it is practically impossible to appeal the decision of doctors who declared a serviceman fit for service after injury. Of all the considered lawsuits, as “Vyorstka” found out, the court sided with the serviceman in only one case.

According to the former military surgeon Maksym Myromanov, who resigned from the hospital in Chita at the beginning of the war, military medical commissions have always been biased towards establishing the fitness category. “Hospitals obey the general staff and do as they are told,” Myromanov told the publication. Until 2022, hospitals had a system of treating, rehabilitating a little, and sending them back. Now, according to the former military surgeon, the installations have tightened, as the army needs people. If all body parts of a serviceman are in place, he must be considered fit and sent back to the front. “Staff deficit, big losses and many cases of termination of contracts,” he believes.

Secretary of the Union of Committees of Soldiers’ Mothers Valentina Melnikova believes otherwise. In her opinion, military medical commissions act independently, and the overestimation of the fitness category is due to negligence in the preparation of medical documents.

“Vyorstka” cites the case of mobilized Ramil Zholmukhanbetov, who was hit in the head by a shrapnel. Such an injury is qualified by law as a serious injury. After treatment in a Volgograd hospital, the military medical commission assigned him the fitness category “A”. The serviceman filed a lawsuit against the hospital, but the judge sided with the doctors, stating that if the shrapnel had damaged the brain, then it would be possible to lower the fitness category.

Military serviceman Alexey Zaitsev received a mine-explosive injury at the front. After treatment, an X-ray showed several fragments in his legs. Nevertheless, military doctors came to the conclusion that Zaitsev “can serve, since the main function of his legs — the ability to move — has been preserved.” The court upheld this decision.

Military personnel injured during hostilities also have to sue for compensation. According to the law, they can claim three types of one-time payments: from the Russian government, from the insurance company, and from the governors of the region for a total of more than six million rubles. For this, a certificate from the hospital is required. However, military doctors in some cases refuse to diagnose a military injury and attribute the symptoms to pathological fatigue or document diagnoses unrelated to the injury. In addition, in some cases, due to bureaucratic delays, it is necessary to wait for months to receive a certificate, and servicemen during this time return to the front, “Vyorstka” found out.

• During the invasion of Ukraine, Russia, according to the most conservative estimates, could lose 50 thousand people dead. Russia’s irretrievable losses, taking into account those who were disabled due to injury or death, may amount to at least 225 thousand people. Such assessments are given on the BBC website.
• The Russian authorities do not provide the official number of casualties in the war, the last time the figures were called in September last year.