Process - Patients infected with hepatitis C: BGH confirms judgment
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe has confirmed the verdict against an anesthetist in the Swabian hepatitis scandal. According to the judges of the Augsburg Regional Court, the 61-year-old, who was infected with the hepatitis C virus, infected patients with the virus during operations in 51 cases, "in blatant disregard of applicable hygiene regulations". The senior physician employed in a hospital had accepted the infections. He was sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence for 51 counts of grievous bodily harm and embezzlement.
The 1st Criminal Senate of the Federal Court of Justice found no legal error to the detriment of the accused in an appellate review of the verdict, the Federal Court of Justice announced on Thursday. The senate therefore dismissed the defendant's appeal. The public prosecutor's office had demanded three years in prison for the doctor, but then accepted the sentence without lodging an appeal.
The cases occurred between February 2017 and April 2018. The 61-year-old had confessed in the trial before the Augsburg Regional Court. The judges had assumed that the doctor had infected a patient himself without realizing he was ill. The background to this was that he repeatedly diverted opiates from the hospital in Donauwörth (Donau-Ries district) due to his own ailments and secretly injected himself.
Hepatitis C is a disease that often goes undetected, but can also have serious long-term consequences. According to Deutsche Leberhilfe, the infection heals on its own within six months in 20 to 50 percent of cases. In the other cases, the liver inflammation becomes chronic and remains in the body. After 20 to 30 years, cirrhosis and liver cancer can occur in those affected.
Statement BGH
Read also:
- A clan member is punished here
- Traffic lawyer warns: Don't talk to the police!
- Will he be convicted as Jutta's murderer after 37 years?
- He also wanted to kill his cousin
Source: www.stern.de
