Argentina: Maradona abandons his fate

Buenos Aires | An expert report released last Friday criticized that Diego Maradona, the Argentine soccer legend, had “abandoned his fate” by the surrounding medical team shortly before his death, providing him with an “inadequate” treatment that led to slow pain.

Also read: Maradona’s death: Two of his daughters heard as part of the investigation

Also read: Maradona’s death: The investigation also targeted a psychiatrist and two nurses

In a 70-page document, the medical committee responsible for the investigation decided upon the request of justice in the last hours of the Argentine star, that Diego Maradona “began to die at least 12 hours before” to be found lifeless and endured “a long period of torment.”

The report also stated that “signs of danger to life were ignored” and that the nursing care provided “was tainted by faults and irregularities.”

The prosecution opened an investigation that seeks to identify possible negligence or recklessness in the medical treatment provided to the Argentine No. 10, who died of a heart attack on November 25, 2020 at the age of 60, at his residence in Tigray, in the north. . From Buenos Aires.

The statements of two of the daughters of the former Argentine captain, Gianna (31 years old) and Jana (24 years old), who indicated that neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque is responsible for the deteriorating health of the Argentine national team. Their father had filed a lawsuit.

The medical committee of twenty experts, including forensic specialists who performed the autopsy and specialists from various medical specialties, concluded that the former world champion “would have had a better chance of survival” if he had been hospitalized. Convenient and concentrated versatile care.

The document insists that “taking into account the clinical and psychological picture and the poor general condition, he should have continued his multidisciplinary rehabilitation and treatment in an appropriate institution.”

Experts said that Diego Maradona “was not using his mental faculties fully, and was not able to make decisions about his health” after his surgery to treat a hematoma in the head in early November.

According to his personal physician, former Boca Juniors, Napoli and Barcelona player Leopoldo Locke insisted on leaving the hospital environment and refused to transfer him to another care center.

“The treating medical team fully and completely considered the possibility of a fatal outcome for the patient, but remained absolutely indifferent to this issue, did not change his behavior and their medical approach (…) and surrendered to his fate,” the report accuses the captain of the Argentina national team, the 1986 world champion in Mexico.

As for the former spokesperson for Diego Maradona, Sebastian Sanchi, in an interview with Agence France-Presse, “It is clear that the (medical) committee is saying that things were not done correctly.”

The Prosecutor of San Isidro, in charge of the investigation, charged seven people: neurosurgeon Leopoldo Locke, psychiatrist Agustina Kuzakov, psychiatrist, and two nurses (a man and a woman) who were in the hospital. Next to Diego Maradona’s bed, as well as these nurses’ supervisor and the doctor coordinating hospitalizations at home.

In Argentina, penalties for negligence or manslaughter range from five years’ imprisonment to fifteen years.

Separate legal proceedings are also underway regarding the player’s disputed legacy between these five children and his siblings and last legal representative, Matthias Morla.