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Editorial Paris
Published on
Dec 29 2024 at 6:16 a.m.
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The AP-HP before the courts in a trial as a “springboard” towards the truth: after 16 years of fighting, Bernard Elhaik and his family obtained a lawsuit against the Paris Hospitals and a neurologist for a misinterpreted MRI and “lies” which, according to them, led to the death of his daughter, Carole Darmon.
Also read: Paris: she had lost everything after the death of her 25-year-old son, the Council of State gives her hope
“Everything stopped”
This Friday March 14, 2008, this 36 year old woman “in perfect health”, mother of a fourth child born a week earlier, complains of an excruciating migraine.
At the Bichat hospital in Paris, initial examinations rule out a serious pathology. A neurologist, Pull S.signs his discharge form on Saturday after an MRI which he considers normal.
On Monday morning, the doctor called her back for an additional examination. Carole Darmonreturned to the hospital and suffered a “massive” stroke in the afternoon. In a vegetative state, she died on November 6, 2016.
In his Parisian apartment, Bernard Elhaik Carole, a young woman, told AFP, “extremely dynamic” and “very happy”. “Of course,” concedes this father with suppressed emotions, “when she fell into a coma, well… Everything stopped. »
“Interpretation error”
After having accepted the inevitability of a rare disease, Bernard Elhaik discovered a few months later his daughter's medical file and in particular the MRI on which appeared, in the opinion of the experts, a clear “error of interpretation”: signs “discreet but indisputable” of hemorrhage in the brain.
The investigation focuses on a disorganization of Bichat which would have prevented a radiologist from being able to conduct and then analyze the disputed examination.
Who then managed the MRI? A radio technician said she made it ” alone “on the instructions of neurologist Tarik S. who then studied it.
Pour Bernard Elhaikimpossible. For a time, this dental surgeon read books on cerebral neurology and visited libraries. The one who has multiplied the procedures, in addition to the criminal one, and who is angry against the experts who, according to him, have too easily cleared the hospital and its doctors, is convinced of having identified a radiologist who did the MRI but without sign the report on time, thus condemning his daughter, according to him. The investigation did not implicate her, to the great dismay of this father.
On November 29, a Parisian investigating judge ordered a trial for the AP-HP et Pull S. for unintentional injuries with total incapacity for work of more than three months. Two years of imprisonment are incurred.
“Demonstrate the absence of an infringement”
Asked by AFP, the AP-HP did not wish to comment on “a procedure in progress on the merits”, recalling that “this case (had) initially been the subject of a dismissal”, then, after an appeal, of “requisitions for dismissal in October 2024”.
Tarik S.'s lawyer, Me Bernard Grelonsays he is “deeply surprised” by this trial, but “convinced of being able to demonstrate the absence of an offense” by the doctor.
In her order of which AFP was aware, the magistrate underlines “the length and complexity of this legal procedure”. This “added to the hardships suffered by this family” who “need a trial to be held”.
On the merits, the judge identifies two faults : on the one hand, “discharge on Saturday without reading the examination by a radiologist and without writing a written report”.
On the other hand, “the latency time», “several hours”, “for the care of Carole Darmon on Monday”.
The magistrate also points out the possibility that the doctors may not have not questioned the patient about the medications she was taking, including one that could increase her risk of stroke.
“Really responsible”
The family lawyer, Mr Romain Bouletspeaks of a “staggering procedure” in which he had “recourse to a private detective. » “I have never encountered such resistance from the institution to bring the truth to light. »
And to hope that this trial allows “to respond to this simple question that haunts children by Carole Darmon: Why did mom die? »
For Bernard Elhaik, the correctional hearing is already a “very big victory”: his grandchildren “are asking questions” and, he adds, “I would not want to […] that Eden can feel guilty.” “For them, it is extremely important that this trial takes place and let the truths come out. »
But “it’s not exactly what I expected,” tempers the septuagenarian. “This trial will onlya springboard to go beyondand look for those really responsible. »
With AFP
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