The verdict came at the trial of the death of young Timéo. Two female doctors guilty of negligence were sentenced to suspended prison sentences and the Nancy hospital to a heavy fine Friday for the death of the four-year-old boy, which occurred following a drug overdose in 2015. The Criminal Court of Nancy, on the other hand, acquitted the nurse initially implicated. A one-year suspended sentence had been requested against the three caregivers, prosecuted for manslaughter.

In the spring of 2015, the little boy was admitted to the CHRU of Nancy for leg pain, after falling from a motorcycle on which his father was carrying him. Struggling to establish a clear diagnosis after three weeks of care in the infant unit, under the supervision of a young intern, the medical team had decided to give him colchicine, an anti-inflammatory. But a prescription error (0.5 mg per day which will become 0.5 mg per kg) will result in the administration, two consecutive days, of 16 times the dosage required for such a young patient, which led to his death.

The paediatric cardiologist who prescribed colchicine, the overwhelmed assistant head of clinic did not sufficiently supervise the medical intern in charge of the young patient, and the nurse who negligently administered the erroneous prescription were prosecuted.

A "lack of security"

"We were heard," said Timéo's mother, Elodie Gaire, after the decision was announced. "What we would have liked is for a process with checks to be put in place today in this hospital. It is not known if since the facts there have been improvements in the management and prescription of drugs in this pediatric service, "she continued. "There is a big lack of security in this hospital, we wonder how they manage to be ranked among the best CHR. " "Our fear was that our son's death would be hushed up, that no one would be found guilty and this is not the case, it is already a small step," added the father, Julien Thuret.

The cardiologist was convicted of Timéo's death and given a one-year suspended sentence. The court considered that she was an "experienced, competent doctor", who "left the intern to fend for himself" while "she is the specialist, she knows the drug and knew that there was no pediatric version of it", motivated the court. A "revolting decision" for his lawyer Frédéric Berna, who has already planned to appeal: "I will never accept a conviction in this case!" he insisted.

The doctor, who was assistant head of clinic at the time of the events, was sentenced to six months' suspended imprisonment for her "failure to supervise a medical intern". "There is gross negligence in supervision," the court said. Finally, found "guilty of the faults committed by practitioners acting on its behalf", the CHRU of Nancy was sentenced to a fine of 225,000 euros, more than four times higher than that of requisitions. The hospital had already been convicted of similar offences in January 2011. He will be required to post, on an A3 format, and for two months the sentence on the front door of the establishment as well as on the door of the pediatric service.

  • Justice
  • Nancy
  • Meurthe-et-Moselle
  • Grand East
  • Lorraine
  • Hospital
  • Lawsuit