Eight medical professionals accused of criminal negligence in the death of Argentine footballer Diego Maradona are to stand trial. A judge has ordered a homicide trial after a medical panel found Maradona’s treatment was filled with “deficiencies and irregularities.”
The legendary footballer died in November 2020 of a heart attack in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires. He was 60 at the time of his passing, and had been at his home recovering from a recent surgery on a brain blood clot.
A few days following his death, Argentine prosecutors launched an investigation into the doctors and nurses who cared for him in the weeks leading up to his passing.
Last year, the panel of 20 medical personnel appointed to examine his death concluded Maradona’s medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless manner.” The court ruling also stated that the athlete “would have had a better chance of survival” with adequate treatment in an appropriate medical facility.
Those facing charges included his neurosurgeon and personal doctor, Leooldo Luque, a psychiatrist and psychologist, two doctors, two nurses, and their boss. They have all denied responsibility for his death. All eight of those facing charges will be tried based on a legal definition of homicide based on negligence committed with the knowledge that it may lead to a person’s death.
The legal proceedings were brought up by a complaint filed by two of Maradona’s children. They expressed concerns over their father’s treatment after the brain operation.
In an emotional press conference in November 2020, Dr. Luque at one point told reporters, “You want to know what I am responsible for? For having loved him, for having taken care of him, for having extended his life, for having improved it to the end.” He also said he had done “everything he could, up to the impossible.”
If charged, the eight involved could receive a sentence of eight to 25 years, according to Argentina’s penal code. A date for the trial has not been set yet.
Link to article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-61904976
The legendary footballer died in November 2020 of a heart attack in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires. He was 60 at the time of his passing, and had been at his home recovering from a recent surgery on a brain blood clot.
A few days following his death, Argentine prosecutors launched an investigation into the doctors and nurses who cared for him in the weeks leading up to his passing.
Last year, the panel of 20 medical personnel appointed to examine his death concluded Maradona’s medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless manner.” The court ruling also stated that the athlete “would have had a better chance of survival” with adequate treatment in an appropriate medical facility.
Those facing charges included his neurosurgeon and personal doctor, Leooldo Luque, a psychiatrist and psychologist, two doctors, two nurses, and their boss. They have all denied responsibility for his death. All eight of those facing charges will be tried based on a legal definition of homicide based on negligence committed with the knowledge that it may lead to a person’s death.
The legal proceedings were brought up by a complaint filed by two of Maradona’s children. They expressed concerns over their father’s treatment after the brain operation.
In an emotional press conference in November 2020, Dr. Luque at one point told reporters, “You want to know what I am responsible for? For having loved him, for having taken care of him, for having extended his life, for having improved it to the end.” He also said he had done “everything he could, up to the impossible.”
If charged, the eight involved could receive a sentence of eight to 25 years, according to Argentina’s penal code. A date for the trial has not been set yet.
Link to article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-61904976
