Peritonitis mistaken for lumbago, 48-year-old dies after 15 hours of agony. ASL ordered to compensate the family.

A wrong diagnosis, hours of agony and a death that could have been avoided. The story of Antonio Del Prete, a 48-year-old from frattamaggiore, has shocked public opinion and led to the condemnation of the ASL Napoli 2 North for medical negligence.

It was May 4, 2013 when Antonio Del Prete went to the emergency room of the San Giovanni di Dio hospital in Frattamaggiore due to severe abdominal pain. The doctors on duty, after a superficial examination, discharged him with a diagnosis of lumbago, without performing the diagnostic tests necessary to identify the real cause of the discomfort.

The worsening of the situation and the death

In the following hours, Antonio's condition worsened dramatically. After 15 hours of suffering, the man returned to the hospital in desperate conditions. The tests revealed a perforated hollow viscus, a serious peritonitis which required emergency surgery. Despite the doctors' attempts, Antonio Del Prete died due to cardiac arrest.

The ASL's condemnation

Antonio Del Prete's family did not give up and started a legal battle to obtain justice. The court of Naples North, accepting the theses of the forensic doctors and lawyers Luciano Palermo and Angelo Scarano, sentenced the ASL Napoli 2 Nord to compensate the victim's six brothers with 350 thousand euros for the loss of the parental relationship.

Medical responsibilities

The ruling recognized the serious medical responsibilities in the incorrect diagnosis and in the failure to perform fundamental diagnostic tests, such as ultrasound, which would have allowed for the timely identification of peritonitis and saving the life of Antonio Del Prete.

The words of the family and the lawyer Palermo

“After so many years, we see our right recognized,” declared Antonio Del Prete’s brothers. “The sentence does not give us our brother back, but we had the duty to ensure that justice was done.” Lawyer Luciano Palermo stressed the importance of reporting cases of medical malpractice: “Keeping silent in the face of injustices of this type does not contribute to improving our society: the public health service must come to terms with its own mistakes.”