A surgeon told a court on Thursday that Diego Maradona was a "very difficult patient" who did not easily follow medical advice, during the trial of seven healthcare workers accused of negligence in his death.
Maradona, the legendary Argentine footballer, died on November 25, 2020, at age 60. He had been recovering at home from surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain.
The trial is examining whether poor medical care contributed to his death. Prosecutors say Maradona’s final days were marked by serious neglect while he was being treated at home in Tigre, a suburb of Buenos Aires.
The football icon died from heart failure and fluid in the lungs, just two weeks after his operation.
One major question in the trial is whether Maradona should have been kept in a hospital instead of being sent home to recover.
Neurosurgeon Rodolfo Benvenuti, who led the brain surgery, told the court that Maradona did not want to go for a CT scan and strongly resisted staying in a medical facility after the operation.
“He was defiant and hard to manage,” said Benvenuti. “He only agreed to recover at home and refused to consider any other option.”
Benvenuti said he believed Maradona needed to be checked by a doctor every day. But court evidence revealed that doctors were only scheduled to visit once a week — and one of those visits didn’t even happen because Maradona didn’t want to see anyone.
Maradona was found dead in his bed by a nurse on duty.
So far, the trial has focused on the poor setup of Maradona’s home care, which prosecutors describe as “grossly negligent.”
If found guilty of “homicide with possible intent,” the seven defendants could face between eight and 25 years in prison. The charge means they continued with actions that could clearly lead to death.
The trial is taking place in San Isidro and began on March 11. It is expected to continue until July.
