No one is guilty for the death of Ferdinando Del Pezzo, which occurred on 17 November 2016 after a laparoscopic gastroplasty operation on Low Big Pine Forest of Castel Volturno.
Article Key Points
The sole judge Federica Villano of the Santa Maria Capua Vetere court has in fact acquitted the six doctors accused by the Prosecutor's Office of having caused the patient's death because the fact did not exist.
The prosecution claimed that the doctors, each with a specific role:
Christian Garden, first surgeon, would have cut the patient's spleen causing a reactive hemorrhage;
Alessandro Borrelli and Domenico De Vito, surgical assistants, did not correctly evaluate Del Pezzo's clinical picture, failing to detect the drop in hemoglobin due to internal bleeding;
Viviana Ventriglia, Ottavia Ferrone and Salvatore Di Maio, intensive care doctors, would not have ordered an ultrasound that could have highlighted the ongoing hemorrhage.
The defense, on the other hand, argued that Del Pezzo's death was caused by a sudden and unforeseeable event. This theory was supported by the judge who acquitted the doctors.
The names of the six acquitted doctors:
- Cristiano Giardiello, 64 years old, from Napoli
Alessandro Borrelli, 48 years old, from Naples
Domenico De Vito, 46 years old, from Ercolano
Viviana Ventriglia, 46 years old, from Piedimonte Matese
Ottavia Ferrone, 43 years old, from Capua
Salvatore Di Maio, 58 years old, from Caserta
The story had a strong impact on the local community, with Del Pezzo's family always asking for justice for his death.
The judge's ruling ends the first-instance trial, but the prosecution is likely to appeal.
A reconstruction that did not convince the judge, who instead adhered to the defense's thesis (lawyers Claudio Sgambato, Luigi Sena, Maria Concetta Nitti), according to which the event that caused the death would have been sudden and unforeseeable.
Article published on 12 July 2024 - 15:10