Diego Maradona's Death: Trial Of Medical Staff To Begin
Four years after the death of Argentine footballer Diego Maradona, seven healthcare professionals accused of negligence during his final days will go on trial. The trial will begin on Tuesday, March 11, in the Buenos Aires suburb of San Isidro. More than 100 witnesses, including members of Maradona’s family and doctors who tended to him over the years, will take the stand over the course of the four-month trial.
If the accused are convicted, they could face between eight to 25 years in prison. The main accused include Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, psychologist Carlos Diaz, medical coordinator Nancy Forlini, nursing coordinator Mariano Perroni, doctor Pedro Pablo Di Spagna, and nurse Ricardo Almiro.
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Maradona, the Argentine football legend, died on November 25, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, while recovering from brain surgery for a blood clot. Aged 60, the footballer was battling cocaine and alcohol addiction for decades.
He was found dead in his bed at a rented house in a Buenos Aires neighbourhood. He was then discharged from the hospital just two weeks after the surgery. He was found to have died of a heart attack. From the testimony, it was revealed that one of the healthcare providers had noticed some ‘warning signs’ on the previous night. However, she had been instructed not to wake him up.
The death of great footballing legend has devastated the soccer fans. Since the news of death came amidst Covid-19 pandemic it had dipped the South American country to deep mourning. When his body was laid in the Presidential palace, ten of thousands of people came to pay respects.
Apart from the accused, a nurse named Gisela Dahiana Madrid is set to be tried separately by jury, and the trial is scheduled for July. After an initial investigation, a panel of 20 medical experts convened by Argentina’s public prosecutor observed that Maradona would have had a better chance of survival with adequate treatment in a proper medical facility. The investigating magistrate revealed the shocking involvement of the accused in Maradona’s death. However, the accused have denied any responsibility for the footballer’s death.
Medical examiner Pablo Ferrari’s report concluded that Maradona’s rapid, erratic heartbeat was either of natural origin or stemmed from an “external” factor, possibly a drug like cocaine, which Maradona had been known to abuse in the past. Ferrari said he couldn’t perform a toxicology report due to Maradona’s insufficient urine sample. These findings contradict those of a 20-member medical panel appointed to investigate Maradona’s death. The 2021 report accused Maradona’s medical team of acting in an “inappropriate, deficient, and reckless manner,” leaving the soccer player in agony and without help for more than 12 hours before his death, according to AP.
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Maradona’s family claimed that leaked videos and messages had proven that the footballer’s health was in imminent danger. Mario Baudry, lawyer, said that, according to the leaked messages, the medical team’s strategy was to hide the situation from Maradona’s daughters so they wouldn’t intervene, “because if they did, the medical staff would lose their money”.
