An 88 -year -old woman died in 2017 at Rheinfelden (AG) hospital. She had a bad fall wanting to go to the toilet and died 24 hours after the accident. An Argovian court recently sentenced a doctor of the establishment, according to “CH-Media”. He was found guilty of negligence homicide.
After falling, the patient complained of hip pain. She also suffered from Parkinson’s disease, osteoporosis and took anticoagulants. The doctor made radios, but noticed anything abnormal. He also did not call on a specialist to refine his diagnosis. First, the hospital concluded that the patient had died of natural causes. Subsequent expertise has shown that the retiree had succumbed after an internal hemorrhage. A fracture of the basin linked to the fall has also been noted.
According to the accusation, the doctor ignored the indices indicating a blood loss, he saw fit to scan and did not check any side effects of the drugs. “The night of the fall, I received no calls” from the patient, said the professional for her defense. He assured that he had visited him twice. According to the doctor, not only are the pelvis fractures rare in this kind of case, as well as deaths following such an injury.
According to the court, symptoms and death were linked. The doctor would therefore have acted too passively, omitted to carry out the necessary examinations and would not have involved the radiology service. “Closer surveillance would have been indicated,” said the judge. The court has taken into account the structural gaps of the hospital, such as the lack of staff, to reduce the sentence of the defendant. He received a suspended 90-day suspended sentence at 250 francs and a fine of 3000 francs.
