Two doctors were convicted by the Three-member Criminal Court of Thessaloniki as they were found guilty of the death, by negligence, of a patient, 41 years old, after surgery to remove an umbilical hernia, at the Papanikolaou Hospital of Thessaloniki.

It is a surgeon and a specialist surgeon, on whom the court imposed – respectively – a prison sentence of 18 and 12 months, with a 3-year suspension. For the same case, two more doctors sat on the bench of the same court and were found not guilty.

According to the history of the case as described in the indictment, the patient – a mother of two minor children – underwent surgery in December 2018. After the surgery, she was given an (intravenous) antibiotic which, however, caused – among other things – allergic shock, respiratory distress and decreased level of consciousness. After a delayed administration of adrenaline – as stated in the indictment – she was transferred for hospitalization to the Intensive Care Unit of the Hospital, where her health condition gradually worsened (she suffered multiple organ failure and severe brain damage) and she died ten days later.

“They told us it was a routine operation, like going to the supermarket. When she came out of surgery she was in good spirits. They took her to the ward, and she told me she was fine.” said, among others, the victim’s husband, testifying in court.

In their apologies, the accused doctors denied their responsibilities, stressing that they acted according to the rules of medical science. “Allergic shock was a random event” said the surgeon who received the longest sentence, adding that “as long as I live I will sleep peacefully.” After the unanimous verdict of the judges, the two doctors appealed and were released.