Maradona death trial: two experts call for rehabilitation centre admission
Two experts declared on Tuesday that Maradona should never have been treated at home after surgery. Seven medical professionals face up to 25 years in prison.
Experts in court: Maradona was not fit to be discharged from hospital
Diego Maradona was in the midst of an alcohol withdrawal episode and "not in his normal state" when he was sent home for recuperation — a mistaken decision, according to two experts heard on Tuesday in the trial of the medical team involved in the football star's death. The information was reported by AFP and taken up by News.ro.
A psychiatrist and an internist specialising in complex pathologies gave testimony on the 38th day of hearings regarding the circumstances of Maradona's death, which occurred in November 2020 during home recuperation following a neurosurgical procedure.
Psychiatrist Jose Luis Covelli stated that, in addition to the surgery — which proceeded without complications — the footballer suffered from an "acute confusional state associated with alcohol withdrawal", and therefore "was not a patient in a condition to leave hospital". Covelli listed the symptoms: "psychomotor agitation, impulsivity, irritability, escape attempts". His conclusion was unequivocal: "This is a patient for whom admission to a medical institution was indicated. Home care did not meet the requirements necessary for cognitive monitoring of the patient's evolution in this confused state."
Internist Ramiro Larrea supplemented this perspective, specifying that Maradona "was not in his normal state, was going through a withdrawal episode, which made him difficult to manage", and that "he should have been admitted to a rehabilitation centre". Larrea emphasised that what was organised at the time did not constitute genuine hospitalisation: "A home hospitalisation was organised which was not truly one, but rather home monitoring."
The recuperation had been arranged in a house specially rented in Tigre, north of Buenos Aires. There he was found dead in the morning of 25 November 2020, following a cardiorespiratory shock associated with pulmonary oedema. According to testimony in the trial, the death was preceded by several hours of agony.
The trial, which began in mid-April, examined in detail the insufficient medical equipment of the improvised clinic in Tigre, as well as the care Maradona should have received, considering his medical history — particularly his kidney and heart conditions.
The two experts are part of a multidisciplinary medical commission, composed of approximately twenty specialists — including those who conducted the autopsy — established in 2021 by the justice system to investigate Maradona's death. Members of this commission have proved to be the most critical regarding the care provided to the footballer in his final weeks of life. In their 2021 report, they concluded that Maradona had been "left to his own devices" by the medical team and that "the signs of danger of death" had been ignored.
Seven healthcare professionals — a doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist and nursing assistants — are on trial for possible fatal negligence and face sentences of up to 25 years in prison. The trial is expected to conclude, most likely, in October.
Source: News.ro