Dentist anaesthetist convicted of 13-year prison sentence following child's death
An anaesthetist doctor was convicted of murder and sentenced to 13 years and 6 months in prison. A four-year-old girl died in 2021 after being administered contaminated anaesthetic in his practice.
Dentist anaesthetist convicted of 13-year prison sentence following child's death
Following the death of a four-year-old girl in a dental practice in Kronberg, the Frankfurt regional court convicted the anaesthetist to 13 years and 6 months in prison. The judge found the man guilty of murder and attempted murder in three cases, according to n-tv. The prosecution had argued that the German sought to cover up his serious medical errors.
In September 2021, the doctor injected four children with contaminated anaesthetic and committed further flagrant hygiene breaches. All four suffered blood poisoning. The four-year-old girl died that same night on the dentist's chair. A boy and another girl were artificially ventilated at Frankfurt university clinic and survived only narrowly.
In the first trial before a different chamber of the same court, the defendant had been convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to ten-and-a-half years. The prosecution successfully lodged an appeal with the Federal Court of Justice and had demanded a life sentence. It argued that the anaesthetist sought to conceal his errors and put his patients' lives at risk.
The defence disputed this account. Had he intended a cover-up, it would have been in his interest to prevent the girl's death and thus intensive investigations. His lawyer attributed the behaviour instead to exhaustion and overwork. The verdict is not yet final.
Source: n-tv