"Diego Left to Die": San Isidro Trial Explains Medical Staff's Guilt

San Isidro – Diego Armando Maradona displayed clear and obvious "warning signs" that were culpably ignored during his stay at his home in the weeks leading up to his death in November 2020. This emerged with dramatic clarity in the San Isidro courtroom during the final hearing of the trial involving seven members of the Pibe de Oro's medical and nursing staff, accused of negligence and homicide.

The unheard symptoms and the 12-hour agony

The omissions were outlined by medical examiner Carlos Cassinelli, a member of the medical commission charged with analyzing the sample's medical records. According to the expert, Maradona presented unequivocal clinical indicators: profound edema in the lower limbs, swollen fingers, hypertension, shortness of breath, and a severely altered heart rhythm.

Symptoms that should have prompted immediate intervention, but instead prompted no change in strategy from the medical team. "No one went to investigate the cause of the swelling, despite it being life-threatening," Cassinelli told the judges. The expert also confirmed that the champion's physical deterioration was progressive and that Maradona endured approximately 12 hours of agony before dying of pulmonary edema and heart failure.

"Home admission was a serious mistake."

The analysis presented in court undermines the decision to arrange home care after the delicate neurosurgery the former footballer underwent two weeks before his death. According to the experts, the conditions of the Tigre residential facility and the level of care provided proved completely inadequate to address Maradona's complications and pre-existing conditions.

The defense's arguments and the timing of the sentence

For their part, the defendants—including the attending physicians and the nurses responsible for monitoring the patient—continue to deny all charges, maintaining that the death occurred due to unforeseeable natural causes. The trial in the Argentine court continues apace, and the hearings, intended to shed light on one of the most closely watched legal cases in the country's history, will continue beyond the end of the month.

The salient stages of the Maradona trial

1. Death (November 25, 2020): Diego Armando Maradona died at the age of 60 at his home in Tigre (San Isidro, Buenos Aires), where he was under house arrest two weeks after brain surgery for a subdural hematoma. The initial autopsy determined the cause of death to be "acute pulmonary edema secondary to cardiac failure."
2. The investigation and medical reports (2021–2023)A medical commission of experts appointed by the Argentine judiciary highlights serious omissions in the management of the golden boy, calling the care "deficient and reckless" and the hospital completely inadequate to care for a high-risk patient.
3. The charges and the defendants: Seven members of the medical staff—including neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, psychologist Carlos Díaz, clinician Pedro Di Spagna, and nursing coordinators—are indicted. The prosecution alleges homicide with intent or gross professional negligence.
4. The “false start” and the cancellation (2024–2025): The first trial suffered a sensational setback and was cancelled after the panel judge (Julieta Makintach) was removed for violating the principles of impartiality, due to her unauthorized participation in a documentary on the affair.
5. The new trial and key testimonies (2026): In April 2026, the trial officially reopened at the San Isidro Courthouse. During the hearings, medical consultants and legal experts (including medical examiner Carlos Cassinelli) testified, their statements revealing the champion's prolonged deterioration and agony, which could have been avoided had they been treated promptly.