Appeal in case of death of former justice minister's father
A Kraków appellate court is examining allegations of medical errors in the treatment of Jerzy Ziobro. The family's lawyer is demanding that a verdict acquitting four doctors be overturned.
Appeal in case of death of former justice minister's father
A second-instance trial is ongoing before the Kraków district court concerning possible negligence in the care of Jerzy Ziobro, the father of the former head of the Ministry of Justice. On Monday, the deceased's family representative presented closing arguments, calling for the reversal of the lower court's decision, which acquitted four doctors from the University Hospital.
Advocate Adam Gomoła accused the first-instance judges of bias. In his view, the deceased's widow was treated with undue severity, almost as an accused party rather than as an injured party. The lawyer also raised the issue of the refusal to admit foreign experts and questioned the impartiality of court-appointed experts, suggesting their connections with the accused.
The representative also questioned the reliability of medical records. According to him, the patient's condition was not as dramatic as the doctors' representatives presented it. The doctors allegedly first misdiagnosed the ailment and then applied improper treatment, which – in the lawyer's view – contributed to the death. The findings of Swiss specialists from Lausanne are significant for the appeal, who assessed that the patient had stable angina, and bypass surgery would have been a better solution than the angioplasty performed by the Kraków physicians.
During the hearing, one of the accused doctors stated that calling the deceased a "victim of a crime" is an abuse of language. He accused the representative of spreading false information, for which he was reprimanded by the judge and, consequently – due to his remarks – removed from the courtroom.
The prosecutor requested that the Swiss experts be questioned again in order to clarify unclear fragments of the opinion, but the court refused. Both the family's representatives and the doctors' lawyers were concerned about prolonging the proceedings due to the approaching statute of limitations deadline – which expires in mid-August. The appellate court ruling is scheduled for 23 July.
Krystyna Kornicka-Ziobro stated in a declaration conveyed by her lawyer that she is not engaged in a struggle with the entire medical profession and this is not a matter of revenge. "I am not seeking pity, I am demanding justice," she wrote.
Jerzy Ziobro was admitted to the UJ hospital in June 2006. He died in early July of the same year. The prosecution investigation was discontinued twice. In 2011, his relatives filed a private charge against the four doctors. The first-instance court found them not guilty. The appellate proceedings have been ongoing since April 2018.
Source: RMF FM
Source: RMF24