10 years ago, a 31-year-old man broke his nose. Admitted to the Marmande emergency room, he died a few hours later. Prosecuted for manslaughter, the radiologist and the emergency physician in charge of the thirty-year-old were presented to justice on November 7, 2024.
The case dates back to May 17, 2014 and was presented to the Agen judicial court this Thursday, November 7, reports South West.
Essential data not communicated by the radiologist
Sébastien, a 31-year-old father from Girondin, fractured his nose after a fall while cycling. Also suffering from a lip injury, he was admitted to the Marmande hospital center in Lot-et-Garonne at around 8 p.m. He then evokes a sensation of no longer feeling his limbs.
After a scan, the replacement radiologist on duty tells him that the images are normal. But around 10:30 p.m., the 30-year-old complained of a sore throat, indicating that he was having difficulty swallowing. A doctor then contacts the radiologist who returned to his hotel, who declares that his diagnosis is clear, reports South West.
At midnight, Sébastien's condition deteriorated even further with severe breathing difficulties. Called back by the emergency physician, the radiologist returns to the site and notices that he has not communicated data that he considered innocuous: “ This omission nevertheless constitutes a determining parameter of the file. specifies the public prosecutor during the hearing.
On the CT images, the patient showed thickening of the epiglottis. A mini-tracheotomy is necessary. The emergency doctor who is responsible for performing it then makes several phone calls, notably to the Bordeaux University Hospital where Sébastien must be transferred: “It’s the protocol”he explains this Thursday to the judges.
“This is unacceptable”
Almost an hour later, the thirty-year-old is still not fooled: “For me, he was not in respiratory distress”declares the emergency doctor at the stand.
At 1:20 a.m., while another doctor finally gave him a mini-tracheotomy, the thirty-year-old died. In front of the magistrates, the emergency doctor indicates that he has not failed in his duty: “I still don’t understand the causes of death.”
The family did not want an autopsy, an element highlighted by the defense during the trial. Present at the hearing, Sébastien's father declared on the stand that a friend of his son went to his bedside that day: “He (his friend, Editor's note), the average civilian, alerts because he realizes that something is wrong. And not the doctor? That's unacceptable. They're idiots. Incompetent!” The emergency physician and the radiologist, who have never been suspended and are still practicing to this day, are accused of non-transmission of fundamental information and inadequate care. The court will deliver its verdict on December 10.
