Maradona was 'difficult,' 'high-risk' patient, doctors say

Doctors testifying in a trial of medical workers who treated Diego Maradona before he died said Thursday that the former Argentina football star was considered a "high-risk" and "very difficult" patient to treat.

Maradona, 60, died of cardiac arrest at his home near Buenos Aires on November 25, 2020. He had been recovering from brain surgery for a blood clot after decades battling cocaine and alcohol addictions.

Seven health care workers are accused of negligence over his death. The defendants are facing between eight and 25 years in prison if found guilty of "homicide with possible intent." They have denied the charges brought against them.

What did the witnesses tell the court?

Sebastian Nani, head of cardiology at the Olivos Clinic where Maradona had the emergency brain surgery on November 3, told the court that the ex-footballer was "a high-risk patient who was experiencing withdrawal symptoms and required significant care."

Nani also said hospital authorities had disagreed with two of the accused — neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque and psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov — who had recommended that Maradona continue his recovery outside of the hospital.During a trial hearing last week, Maradona's former wife and a doctor had also questioned the decisions to move the World Cup winner to a private home instead of having him admitted to a rehabilitation center.

Nani added that once he was discharged from the clinic, "Maradona's responsibility lied 100% with Luque."Luque was Maradona's personal physician during the final four years of his life. Cosachov prescribed his medication, which he took until his death.

In addition to Luque and Cosachov, psychologist Carlos Diaz, doctors Nancy Forlini and Pedro Di Spagna, Mariano Perroni, a representative of the company that provided the nursing service, and nurse Ricardo Almiron are also being tried.

What else did the trial hear?

The court also heard witness testimony from neurosurgeon Rodolfo Benvenuti, who had interacted with Maradona while he was hospitalized in the weeks before his death.Benvenuti said Maradona was "a very difficult patient" who had a "defiant" attitude towards his treatment and needed to be convinced to have a CT scan prior to his brain surgery.

The witness also described how Luque had clashed with hospital authorities over who would lead Maradona's surgery, accusing Luque of falsifying a surgery report that said he had been the lead surgeon.Benvenuti also said he had met with Maradona's relatives and his medical team when it was decided that the former soccer star would continue his treatment at home, where it was agreed that Luque would "intervene whenever Maradona would refuse treatments or medical attention."

He said that Maradona wanted to leave the clinic as soon as possible and that "he was not going to accept" anything other than "a home stay."Benvenuti also said that a "daily evaluation by a clinician" at Maradona's home would have been sufficient.

But evidence presented at trial so far has shown that the clinical visits only occurred once a week, and that Maradona had refused to be seen during one of those planned visits.

The trial will continue next Tuesday.