By the judgment of 27 November 2020, the District Court for Poznań – Grunwald and Jeżyce in Poznań acquitted two doctors accused of a deed under Article 160 §3 of the Penal Code, i.e. medical malpractice. The event covered by the indictment took place on 1 July 2012, when the wronged party was hospitalised in a severe condition after being stabbed in the chest with a knife. The court found that doctors did everything they could to save the victim, pointing out that it is not possible to bring about a situation in which doctors have to bear responsibility for the inefficiency and poor organisation of the health system.
One of the doctors was represented by attorney Joanna Sowisło-Wawrzyniak, who pointed out that the wronged patient had been taken to the wrong hospital, which did not have a hospital emergency department, where it was not possible to perform a complicated thoracotomy. The court shared the defence counsel’s argument that in this case, the only right decision had been made by the doctor to transport the victim to a specialist facility with a trauma centre, which had such staffing capacity as well as the equipment to carry out this kind of surgery.
The court also found that the doctors dealing with this patient fought for his life under extreme conditions, and the patient was hospitalised in an agonal state. In the course of more than five years of trial in this case, extensive evidence was examined and several expert opinions were drawn up, as well as the hearing of witness statements.
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