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

    ReplyDelete
  2. 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

Breaking! Nigerians, Meet Your Ministers, And Their Portfolios

The newly appointed ministers were administered portfolios by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Please see the list of Ministers and their portfolios below: LIST: Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani Minister of State, Environment and Ecological Management, Ishak Salaco  Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Wale Edun Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Bunmi Tunji Minister of Power, Adedayo Adelabu Minister of State, Health and Social Welfare, Tunisia Alausa Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John Minister of Transportation, Adegboyega Oyetola Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Anite Minister of Innovation Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Nkiruka Onyejeocha Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy Minister of Works, David Umahi Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo Minister of Youth, Abubakar Momoh Min...

So Sad! A Shooter Murdered Three Children And Three Adults At Elementary School In Nashville, Tennessee

In the United States city of Nashville, Tennessee, three children and three adults have been killed at a Covenant School, a private Christian school for students aged three to eleven.                                         Image Credit: The Guardian  An ex-student of the school opened fire, in an attack which saw six people dying. The three pupils who died were all aged nine. The child victims have been named as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney. The adult victims were named as Cynthia Peak, 61, Katherine Koonce, 60, and Mike Hill, 61. Police said the suspect gained entry by shooting through a door at the school. A search of their home led to officers seizing more firearms. The suspect has been identified as 28-year-old Audrey Hale, officers said. There has been some confusion about Hale's gender identity - with police initially describing the attacker as a woman, ...

In The Spotlight

Nollywood superstar actress Genevieve Nnaji shares a no make up picture of herself on her Instagram page.  This picture here, can fit perfectly for a remix album cover of the song "Isn't She Lovely" by Stevie Wonder. Lovely pic! 'Beautiful, Ms Jenny.' Genevieve Nnaji, born on 3 May 1979, is a Nigerian actress, producer, and director. She won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 2005, making her the first actor to win the award. In 2011, she was honoured as a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic by the Nigerian Government for her contributions to Nollywood. Credit: Instagram, Wikipedia.