Diego Maradona’s doctor “irresponsible” the last few days of the idol: the lawyer

Diego Maradona’s personal doctor denied any responsibility for the football icon’s death through his lawyer on Monday. He and six other medical staff are under investigation for manslaughter.

Leopoldo Luque, a 39-year-old neurosurgeon, appeared before the prosecutor in Buenos Aires to answer claims that he and other paramedics ignored Maradona in his last days, leading to his death.

Luke will “explain that he is not responsible for (Maradona’s) home care” because he recovered from a blood clot from brain surgery, the doctor’s lawyer Julio Rivas said on the sidelines of the hearing on Monday.

Maradona, 60, was found dead in bed in November last year, two weeks after the operation, in a rented house in an upscale neighborhood in Buenos Aires. He was taken there after he was discharged from the hospital.

He was found to have died of a heart attack.

Rivas said of Luke and the 36-year-old co-psychiatrist Agustina Korsachev, “I think neither Agustina nor Leo was responsible for Maradona’s death.”

Other members of the team said that the two were responsible for taking care of the retired football player.

Luke’s interrogation ended the two-week interrogation process. He and six other people showed up one by one to defend themselves.

The “painful” ending

The judge will then decide whether to order a trial, which may take several years. If convicted, the suspect will face the risk of 8 to 25 years in prison.

After two of Maradona’s five children filed a complaint with Luke, an investigation began, and they accused Luke of being the culprit for their father’s deterioration after the operation.

A team of 20 medical experts convened by Argentine prosecutors said last month that Maradona’s treatment was full of “deficiencies and irregularities.”

The expert group concluded that he “has a better chance of survival” if he receives appropriate treatment at the appropriate medical institution.

The board found that the team did not provide adequate care, and handed over the idol player to his fate during a “long and painful period.”

Luke described the sports legend as a friend. He arrived at the prosecutor’s office in San Isidro, Buenos Aires in a dark suit, tie, and sunglasses. His hearing will be on Monday. One hour before the start.

He made no statement to the waiting reporter.

A judicial source told AFP that his lawyer had submitted a document to the prosecutor before the hearing, which was expected to last several hours.

He is not obligated to answer questions, but Rivas said on Monday that he would answer.

‘I tried my best’

Luke has repeatedly denied guilt and recently said, “I am proud of what I have done” to help the patient, denying that he has abandoned him.

“I tried my best. I offered Diego everything I could: some he accepted, some didn’t,” he said in a recent interview.

The doctor said that Maradona had been depressed in the last few days of his life.

“I know that the (coronavirus) quarantine hit him a lot,” Luke said.

Maradona made a public appearance at an event to commemorate his 60th birthday on October 30 last year. He was obviously weak and had difficulty speaking and walking.

Duke ordered him to be hospitalized, when the blood clot was discovered.

Maradona, who was discharged from the hospital after the operation, could only receive home care, but some of his medical team told the prosecutor that there was a lack of medical equipment in the house.

Last week, a lawyer for the 36-year-old co-nursing Dahiana Madrid (Dahiana Madrid) said that the leader of the medical team “killed Diego.”

“In the end, there were many warning signs that Maradona was going to die, more or less one day. And no doctor took any measures to stop it,” said the lawyer at the time, Rodolfo Baque.

The other four suspects are 37-year-old nurse Ricardo Almiron; nursing coordinator Mariano Perroni, 40 years old; medical coordinator Nancy Forlini, 52 years old; and psychologist Carlos Diaz, 29 years old.

Everyone denied responsibility.

Maradona has struggled with cocaine and alcohol addiction for many years.

The former Boca youth, Barcelona and Naples star suffered from liver, kidney and cardiovascular diseases at the time of his death.

After inspiring the South American country to win the World Cup for the second time in 1986, Maradona became the idol of millions of Argentines.