Almost nine years after the patient’s death, the Lublin-Zachód District Court acquitted four doctors of the charge of unintentionally endangering her life. The woman was admitted to the gynecology ward for planned surgery. After a few days she died. As it was established, the woman had massive pneumonia, and her death was not related to the surgery. The judgment is not final. The deceased’s husband, who is also a doctor, told reporters after leaving the courtroom that he would consider an appeal after reviewing the written reasons.
A year ago we wrote that The District Prosecutor’s Office in Zamość sent an indictment to the court against four doctors from the hospital. John of God in Lublin, who took care of the patient Małgorzata S.-D. during her stay in the gynecology ward.
Hubert S., Marek W., the head of the gynecology department Mirosław S. and the anaesthesiologist Maria O. were charged with failing to fulfill the obligation to care for the patient.
The court acquitted the doctors. The judgment is not final TVN24
Prosecutors stated that adequate diagnostics had not been implemented
The indictment showed that the doctors misinterpreted the woman’s test results, did not implement appropriate diagnostics, did not take into account the “dynamics of the deterioration of health”, did not order an internal medicine consultation, did not implement the correct medical procedure and “inadvertently exposed the victim to the immediate danger of loss of life” “.
In the course of the investigation, the prosecutor’s office sought a number of expert opinions. In the opinion of the assessors, the medical procedure during the patient’s stay in the hospital. John of God was fraught with irregularities.
During the first hearing on June 22 last year, the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
The doctors consulted the patient’s husband, who is also a doctor
On Monday (January 30), the Lublin-Zachód District Court in Lublin acquitted them of the charge of unintentional exposure to the immediate danger of loss of life or serious damage to the patient’s health.
The trial showed that the patient was admitted to the gynecology ward of St. John of God on April 25, 2014 for a scheduled surgery, after which her health began to deteriorate. Computed tomography showed a tumor and metastatic foci in the patient’s lung. The woman was given an antibiotic. The doctors consulted the patient’s husband, who is also a doctor.
Examination showed inflammation of the left lung
As established during the trial, on April 27, 2014, the patient was transported in a serious condition to the Independent Public Specialist Clinical Hospital No. 4 in Lublin, where another examination did not confirm the presence of the tumor, but showed inflammation of the left lung.
Despite intensive treatment, the patient died on the same day due to “acute respiratory and circulatory failure in the course of complex and atypical lobar pneumonia with complications, sepsis, septic shock and organ failure”.
Court: The first CT scan was wrong
Justifying the invalid verdict, Judge Paweł Pieczonka pointed out that the first CT scan was wrong, unfortunate and it was it that directed the treatment process to at least one day, which decided about the patient’s death.
– The lack of information about inflammatory changes resulting from the tomographic examination and the diagnosis of the tumor (…) caused a delay in initiating intensive anti-inflammatory treatment necessary in the case of Małgorzata S.-D, who was not diagnosed but was in fact developing. massive pneumonia, the judge said.
They found that pneumonia had been developing for at least a few days before death
He added that there is no certainty that the previously implemented intensive antibiotic therapy would have cured the patient. He agreed with the opinions of experts who stated that the procedure at the hospital. John of God and the doctors’ conduct was in line with the common pattern of conduct, adequate to the patient’s health condition, and there is no causal relationship between the procedure and the subsequently diagnosed pneumonia and septic shock.
– According to the experts, the level of pneumonia found in Małgorzata S.-D. developed in the period of at least a few days before death, but in the initial period of illness may not have resulted in significant ailments or pathological clinical symptoms – said the judge.
Patient’s husband: This is a shock to me
The husband of the deceased participated in the hearing as an auxiliary prosecutor. After leaving the court, he told reporters that he would consider an appeal after reviewing the written reasoning.
“It’s a shock to me,” he admitted, adding that he would not comment on the verdict.
The acquitted doctors also declined to comment. The judgment is invalid.
Main photo source: TVN24