Skip to main content

Medical Staff To Stand Trial For Football Legend Diego Maradona's Death

Maradona: Medical staff to be tried for football legend's death.

Eight medical personnel are to stand trial accused of criminal negligence in the death of legendary Argentinian footballer Diego Maradona.

A judge has ordered a culpable homicide trial after a medical panel found Maradona's treatment was rife with "deficiencies and irregularities".

Maradona died in November 2020 of a heart attack in Buenos Aires, aged 60.

He had been recovering at home from surgery on a brain blood clot earlier that month.

A few days after his death Argentine prosecutors launched an investigation into the doctors and nurses involved in his care.

Last year, the panel of 20 experts appointed to examine his death found Maradona's medical team acted in an "inappropriate, deficient and reckless manner".

It also concluded that the footballer "would have had a better chance of survival" with adequate treatment in an appropriate medical facility, according to the court ruling.

Among those facing charges are Maradona's neurosurgeon and personal doctor, Leopoldo Luque, a psychiatrist and psychologist, two doctors, two nurses and their boss. They have all denied responsibility for his death.

All eight will be tried on a legal definition of homicide based on negligence committed in the knowledge that it may lead to a person's death.

The crime can hold a sentence of eight to 25 years in prison, according to Argentina's penal code. A date for the trial is yet to be set.

Mario Baudry, a lawyer for one of Maradona's sons, told Reuters that the football legend was "in a situation of helplessness" by the time of his death.

"As soon as I saw the cause, I said it was homicide. I fought for a long time and here we are, with this stage completed," he said.

The legal proceedings were prompted by a complaint filed by two of Maradona's daughters. They raised concerns about their father's treatment after the brain operation.

In an emotional press conference in November 2020, Dr Luque cried, saying he had done all he could to save the life of a friend.

At one point, the doctor shot back at 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."

The doctor said he had done "everything he could, up to the impossible".

Diego Maradona is largely considered to be one of the greatest footballers to ever play the game. He was captain when Argentina won the 1986 World Cup, scoring the famous 'Hand of God' goal against England in the quarter-finals.

During the second half of his career, Maradona struggled with cocaine addiction and was banned for 15 months after testing positive for the drug in 1991.

The news of his death threw the football world - and his home country of Argentina - into deep mourning, with many thousands of people queuing for hours to walk by his coffin at the presidential palace in Buenos Aires.

Source: BBC


Comments

  1. Anonymous23 June 2022 at 03:17

    This can only happen in a society that works. In naija sane thing happens daily & nobody is punished for negligence

    ReplyDelete
  2. Austin Odidi23 June 2022 at 12:44

    It is good to hold medical practitioners and indeed all professionals accountable. People should seek accountability where they suspect negligence in the professional conduct of medical practitioners in Nigeria

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Type your comments here

Popular posts from this blog

23 children and 54 Others Camped In A Church, In Ondo State, Rescued By The Police

The Ondo State Police Command said a total of 77 people were found locked in the basement of a church; Whole Bible Deliverance Church located at Valentino Area of Ondo town, Ondo State, reports the Punch News. The police said that the victims comprised 23 kids and 54 others including teenagers and adults, males and females. It was alleged that the victims were kidnapped and kept in the underground apartment of the church for over six months before they were rescued. The church’s pastor and some other members are currently in the custody of the command while the police had begun investigation into the matter In a one-minute, 40 seconds video, a voice was heard saying, “There are kidnapped children found in the underground cell of a church in Valentino Area of Ondo. The pastor and some members of the church have been arrested and were also in the police patrol van.’’ One of the parents of the rescued victims, Mr Michael Olorunyomi, said that he left the church because of alleged wrong Bi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Britain-ASDA Slashes Prices On Rice, Pasta And Baked Beans

Asda slashes prices on pasta, rice and baked beans to help ‘millions’ of Britain’s poorest families. Following a successful campaign by anti-poverty blogger and budget chef Jack Monroe, Asda has slashed the prices of hundreds of kitchen staples, helping "millions" of Brits. Last month Monroe, a former food bank user, urged supermarkets to make their cheapest food ranges more widely available after highlighting the inflation in key products such as rice and the removal of value ranges from the shelves in her local Asda in Essex. Her Twitter thread warning that official inflation figures "grossly underestimated" the impact of the current cost of living crisis on Britain's poorest families went viral and generated a media storm. In response, on Monday (February 7) Asda committed to stocking its full Smart Price and Farm Stores ranges in all of its stores and online. On Saturday (February 12), three and a half weeks after her viral Tweets, the campaigner, who has be...
Post a Comment
Read more

INEC-N305bn Required To Conduct 2023 Elections

On Monday 20th December, 2021, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), through its Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu says the commission will require N305 billion to conduct the 2023 general elections. The INEC Boss, made this known in a statement during a meeting with the Senate Committee on Appropriation at the National Assembly. This amount will facilitate the electoral process by aiding the commission to prepare for the election. It will go a long way to assist in the purchase of all the election materials needed and also cover several bye-elections across the country. The INEC Chairman noted however that the commission has already received N100 billion out of the required amount for the elections. The National Assembly is yet to receive a letter from President Muhammad Buhari on his decision to give or withdraw his assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill. The 30-day deadline stipulated by the constitution for the President to respond to the bill expired on Sunday...
2 comments
Read more