Medical staff are accused of mistreating the former exceptional footballer before his death in November 2020. If there is an indictment, the doctors and nurses face up to 25 years in prison.
The responsible public prosecutor’s office in Argentina has requested indictment against the medical care team of football idol Diego Maradona for negligent homicide. In their lawsuit filed on Wednesday, prosecutors accuse eight doctors and nurses of mishandling Maradona and “abandoning him to his fate,” the Telam news agency reported. If prosecuted, the health workers face prison terms of between eight and 25 years.
Maradona died of a heart attack in November 2020 at the age of 60. The medical staff is suspected of having inadequately cared for the ex-footballer before his death. The neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque and the psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov are considered to be primarily responsible. A psychologist, a clinic doctor, a medical coordinator and three nurses are also accused.
According to prosecutors, the suspects were “the protagonists of unprecedented, grossly inadequate and careless home nursing.” In addition, they committed a “series of improvisations, management errors and omissions”. The defense can now present its arguments and possibly ask for the case to be dismissed.
Treatment “insufficient, deficient and careless”
The judicial struggle over the death of the former soccer star has been going on for months. The accused were heard in court in San Isidro, a suburb of Buenos Aires, last year. They rejected the allegations.
Previously, a report by 20 medical experts had shown that Maradona had been treated “insufficiently, inadequately and carelessly” by his medical team at his residence near the Argentine capital, which led to the ex-footballer’s slow death.
Maradona is considered one of the greatest footballers of all time. His death caused consternation around the world. After his active career, the life of the former world champion was characterized by many ups and downs as well as drug and alcohol addiction.