An Argentine appeals court confirmed on Tuesday that Eight medics will in deed stand trial after being held responsible for the death of Argentine Football legend Diego Maradona.
Neuro surgeon Leopoldo Luque,physiatrist Agusta Cosachov and six others had appealed after a decision to put them on trial after being accused of homicide with potential aggreviating circumstances.
Maradona died in November 2020 aged 60 while recovering from brain surgery for a blood clot, and after decades of battles with cocaine and alcohol addictions.
He was found dead in bed two weeks after going under the knife, in a rented house in an exclusive Buenos Aires neighborhood where he was brought after being discharged from hospital.
He was found to have died of a heart attack.
The eight defendants had appealed to the court in San Isidro, northwest of Buenos Aires, against the severity of the charges, arguing that they should be accused of involuntary homicide.
The initial accusation of homicide with “dolus eventualis” holds a person responsible for negligence while knowing that such conduct could lead to death.
Prosecutors accused the medical professionals of being involved in “reckless” and “deficient” home treatment of a patient.
A panel of 20 medical experts convened by Argentina’s public prosecutor concluded in 2021 that Maradona “would have had a better chance of survival” with adequate treatment in an appropriate medical facility.
No trial date has yet been set.
