Mallorca courts: Doctor accused of having accelerated patient death

The operation was at the time of the pandemic in 2020. | Archive

Andrew EdePalma20/02/2024 09:24

On Monday, a doctor from the Son Espases otorhinolaryngology (ear, nose, throat) department told a court in Palma that the head of the department had caused the death of a patient because of a surgical procedure. This procedure was not adequate for addressing the patient's cancer and caused the cancer to develop with greater virulence.

The head of the department is under investigation for possible reckless homicide. On Monday, a judge heard from the doctor who has made the accusation and from the oncologist who had been treating the patient. The investigation was sparked off by a strong letter that the doctor sent to the hospital's management regarding what had happened in 2020.

The defence has pointed to a poor personal relationship and to confrontations that there had been in the department.

Two weeks ago, the accused doctor told the judge that the operation had been done at a time when there was a chaotic situation in the hospital because of the pandemic. He explained that the exact extent of the patient's condition was not known until the operation. This was denied on Monday by one of the witnesses, who gave details of tests that had been done.