Diego Maradona: Seven medics to stand trial for culpable homicide

Seven medical professionals who were responsible for treating Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona in his final days are set to stand trial for culpable homicide, reports the MSN.

The trial, beginning Tuesday in Buenos Aires, will examine allegations that negligence by Maradona’s doctors and caregivers led to his untimely death in 2020 at the age of 60.

Maradona widely regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time, suffered a fatal heart attack at his rented residence in Tigre, an affluent district north of Buenos Aires, while recovering from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.

Despite his history of addiction obesity, and alcoholism, prosecutors argue that Maradona’s death was preventable, had he received proper medical care.

An investigative medical panel found that his treatment was “inappropriate, deficient, and reckless,” prompting legal action against his caregivers.

The case against Maradona’s caregivers is built on extensive evidence, including over 120,000 messages and audio recordings of conversations between the medical team and other involved parties.

All defendants deny wrongdoing, asserting that Maradona was a difficult patient who resisted treatment.

The defense has also presented a separate forensic study claiming that Maradona’s death was “sudden and without agony, adding that the late football star had insisted on home hospitalization.

Maradona secluded himself during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, as his chronic health problems made him more vulnerable to becoming infected and more likely to become severely ill.

The isolation unleashed depression and anxiety for the superstar in early 2020, according to hundreds of pages of court documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

Maradona turned to alcohol, a vice that had long played a role in his troubled legacy.

If convicted of culpable homicide, the accused medical professionals could face up to 25 years in prison.