Trial The trial of three caregivers from the Nancy hospital center after the death, in 2015, of a 4-year-old boy following a probable drug overdose linked to a chain of failures, opened on Tuesday
Illustration. In a hospital. — Camille Allain/20 Minutes
A one-year suspended sentence was imposed. requested Wednesday by the Nancy Criminal Court against the three caregivers of the CHRU hospital tried for manslaughter after the death of Timéo, 4 years old, which occurred at the hospital. following a probable drug overdose.
In the spring of 2015, the little boy had been admitted to the CHRU of Nancy for pain in the legs, after having fallen of a motorcycle on which his father transported him. Struggling to establish a clear diagnosis after three weeks of ward care; infant, under the supervision of a young intern, the medical team had decided to to give him colchicine, an anti-inflammatory. During the trial of three nurses from the Nancy hospital center which began yesterday, the establishment of responsibilities was decided. difficult to establish.
“This matter is completely beyond me,” “nothing alerted us”, “I don’t know:” the hospital of Nancy tried for manslaughter sought Tuesday at; absolve themselves of any possible liability; in the death of Timéo. “What is striking in this case is that no one assumes nor regrets what happened; and everyone passes the buck», regretted the prosecutor in his submissions, assigning “equal level of responsibility” to the three women.
“I did what I thought;” be good at at that time, summed up, facing the Nancy criminal court, the overwhelmed head of the clinic at; who had returned the task of supervising the medical intern in charge of Timéo to a moment when two of his colleagues were absent. “I was helping him to move forward in this dossier, which is completely beyond me,” About the medical student who called her to the rescue. Absent at At the hearing, the intern was granted assisted witness status. during the investigation.
The absence of a written prescription
At the heart of the trial, the prescription issued orally by a specialist in pediatric cardiology at the University Hospital of Nancy, whose diplomas had not been only partially recognized by France after his departure from Syria. “ She was reckless in contenting herself with an oral advice, in not drawing attention to the dangerousness of the attack. of the prescribed drug,” the prosecutor.
“The”opinion” that the cardiologist claims to have given advised 0.5 mg/day of colchicine, which will turn into 0.5 mg per kilo after leaving the pharmacy, i.e. 16 times the dosage required for such a young patient. “If I had made the slightest mistake, I would take full responsibility. and I will apologize to the parents,” in front of the judges. “What happened? is dramatic ,but I did my job,” the nurse who, at the end of the chain, crushed the eight tablets and administered them to the little boy, without questioning his gesture. On the verge of tears, she affirmed; it wasn’’t; her level of “little nurse to contradict a group of specialists” above her. “All the locks have been broken!” Maître Rémi Stéphan, the lawyer for the parents and grandparents of Timéo, civil parties. The prosecutor accused him of its “ neglect ”.
””Something rough””
On Tuesday and Wednesday, about twenty relatives of the child’s family were present at the meeting. the audience, sporting T-shirts with the effigy of the smiling little boy. “It’s a hospital that we thought was safe, seen from Saint-Dié-des-Vosges where we live”: at the end of the day, Timéo’s parents, now separated, move forward to bar. “We believed in it until the end, even in intensive care,” said dignified Elodie Gaire, Timéo’s mother, who doubts that “ ;the work of questioning has been done” at CHRU. Too moved, her ex-spouse was not able to express themselves face to face; the room.
Due to the technicality; of the file, the judgment should be deliberated upon. to a later date.