A Viennese hospital doctor will have to answer in court for negligent homicide in connection with the death of a patient. The doctor on duty at the time is accused by the public prosecutor’s office of “carelessly causing death (…)”, according to the indictment. There is no specific trial date yet.
A corresponding criminal charge by Vienna’s public prosecutor has been filed with the Vienna-Innere-Stadt district court, court spokesman Markus Riedl confirmed on Thursday. “The trial will not take place until mid-September.”
indications of self-harm
A mentally ill woman was taken to a hospital in Vienna by two young police officers in late October 2021 – the officers believed she had signs of self-harm. The woman was admitted as an intramural resident under the Housing Act. The woman then ended her life in the clinic.
Senior doctor would have acted carelessly
The psychiatry specialist refrained from treating the empty artis, despite the assessment that the woman was putting herself in danger. From the point of view of the prosecution, the necessary close monitoring of the woman and her stay in a video-monitored room was negligently omitted. The doctor is also accused of refraining from “increasing the medication”.
The public prosecutor’s office bases itself on a report from a renowned psychiatric expert, which was obtained in advance and which accuses the suspect. The Public Prosecution Service has requested that the expert be included in the main hearing. The presumption of innocence applies to the doctor who would have denied any guilt during the investigation and who is still employed at the clinic in question.
If convicted, he faces a prison sentence of up to 12 months.
Source: Krone
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