A one-year prison sentence and compensation for damages, to be determined in a subsequent civil proceeding, jointly and severally with ASL Napoli 1 Centro. This is the verdict handed down yesterday morning by Dr. Antonia Napolitano Tafuri, a judge of the Court of Naples, against two health workers at the Ospedale del Mare.
The convicted are Dr. Pasquale Sannino, a 58-year-old urologist from San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, and Dr. Annalisa Di Rienzo, a 45-year-old nurse from Santa Maria Capua Vetere. Both were found guilty of the manslaughter of Antonia Maiellaro, 86, from Parete, who died in June 2019 as a result of tragic negligence: she was administered the antibiotic Rocefin, despite her digital medical records and paper reports clearly and repeatedly indicating her allergy to the drug.
According to the prosecution, supported by prosecutor Dr. Mario Canale in a long and detailed closing argument, the two professionals completely ignored the warnings. Dr. Sannino, who prescribed the drug, and nurse Di Rienzo, who actually administered it to the patient, failed to cross-reference the trivial but crucial information available.
The consequences were immediate and terrible.
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The family's lawyer, Vincenzo Di Vaio of Aversa, commented on the ruling with a mixture of satisfaction and bitterness: "Today, the family finally has a just verdict. It is a recognition that Antonia Maiellaro's death was not a cruel and cruel fate, but the consequence of human error that should not and could not have happened. The criminal conviction is an important first step. Now, in the civil trial that will follow, we will fight to obtain compensation commensurate with the pain suffered and, above all, to determine the potential liability of the Local Health Authority, which is jointly and severally liable."
Dr. Sannino was represented by Enrico Ferraro, a lawyer from Naples, while Dr. Di Rienzo was represented by Raffaele Crisileo, a lawyer from Caserta. Their defenses, which emphasized the complexity of hospital work and the non-malicious nature of the action, were deemed insufficient to exonerate the defendants from negligence, which was deemed serious and decisive.
A daughter of the victim, standing outside the courtroom, whispered emotionally: "My mother didn't die of old age. She died from a lapse in concentration that's even more infuriating because it was recorded, in black and white, on a computer. I hope this sentence helps everyone in that hospital never look away from an allergy again."
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