A clinic fined more than 90,000 euros for homicide

The facts date back to 2019. A man underwent liver surgery in a hospital in Avranches (Manche). He was allowed to go out the next day despite his difficulty walking. The man finally died the following day at the age of 56. West France revealed that the fifty-year-old died of intra-abdominal hemorrhagic shock.

A direct link was established between the surgeon's intervention and the patient's death. It was the director of the establishment, as a legal entity, who responded to the accusations. The hospital is accused of failing in the medical monitoring and examination of the patient. The director cannot explain this failure.

Professional misconduct committed by a nurse

According to the director, it would be professional misconduct committed by a nurse which would explain this failure. The representative of the public prosecutor emphasizes “a causal link between the recklessness and the death”.

The representative would have requested a fine of 80,000 euros. During the verdict, the judges found the private establishment guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced it to a fine of 15,000 euros. He will also have to pay 77,500 euros to the civil parties, that is to say the widow and three children of the victim.