Medical Team Faces Homicide Trial in Diego Maradona's Death

They allegedly acted in 'reckless manner' while soccer legend recovered from surgery
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 23, 2022 4:07 AM CDT
8 Medical Staff to Stand Trial in Maradona Death
A man poses for a picture next to a plane dedicated to the late soccer legend Diego Maradona at a military base on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, May 25, 2022.   (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Eight people, including doctors and nurses, who cared for soccer legend Diego Maradona before his death in 2020, will stand trial for homicide because of alleged criminal negligence, authorities in Argentina say. The 60-year-old died while recovering from brain surgery and while an autopsy found he died from natural causes, an investigation of alleged negligence was opened after pressure from his family. In a ruling Wednesday, a judge questioned "the behaviors—active or by omission—of each of the accused which led to and contributed to the realization of the harmful result," reports Reuters.

The eight people charged with "simple homicide," which usually carries a sentence of 8 to 25 years, include a psychiatrist and a psychologist as well as Maradona's neurosurgeon and personal doctor, Leopoldo Luque. A panel of 20 experts determined last year that Maradona's medical team acted in an "inappropriate, deficient, and reckless manner," the BBC reports. Luque angrily rejected accusations of negligence after Maradona's death, saying he was responsible for "having loved him, for having taken care of him, for having extended his life, for having improved it to the end." The trial is not expected until late 2023 or early 2024, the AP reports.

(More Diego Maradona stories.)

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