Surgeon acquitted of involuntary murder

A surgeon accused of involuntary murder has been acquitted by the court of magistrates.

His name was banned by court order during proceedings, Magistrate Edwina Grima banned the publication of his name and other details that can help identify the surgeon.

On 6 September 2006, the surgeon carried out a surgical intervention on a patient the day after being admitted, but the patient was kept at hospital for three months due to ensuring complications.

The court found that the medical complications were unrelated to the surgical intervention.

The patient passed away on Christmas day, 2006.

The patient's relatives filed a suit against the surgeon, which was heard in camera. After hearing the evidence of the court experts, the court held that the surgeon had been professional in his work and was not in any way related to the fatality. In a very long decision, Magistrate Grima said that the court would not have been able to reach a conclusion on the case had it not been for three court-appointed experts specialised in the same surgery as the accused.

In her lengthy decision, Magistrate Grima praised the surgeon's decisions. "This was an unlucky case and the accused surgeon did all within his knowledge to safeguard the patient's life. He was neither negligent nor care less," the magistrate said.

Inspector Kevin Farrugia prosecuted, while lawyer Steve Tonna Lowell appeared for the defence.

Another surgeon, previously named by MaltaToday, left Malta in 2007 and later moved to the United Kingdom. A four-year inquiry had been carried out on the case before the Attorney General's office decided that there were enough grounds for the charges to be brought against two surgeons.