In Orthez (Pyrénées Atlantiques), a judicial investigation for “manslaughter by deliberate breach of a safety obligation” was opened against the anesthetist who had taken care of the young woman who died as a result of her childbirth. , in the night from Friday to last Saturday. As a result, she was taken into custody.
The young woman, aged 28, had been taken care of at Orthez maternity for a childbirth requiring a cesarean section. Placed under general anesthesia, she gave birth to her baby (who is unharmed) but she fell into a coma and then went into cardiac arrest.
Initially, the maternity unit was closed and the patients were evacuated to the public or private maternity units in Pau, Dax, Bayonne or Mont de Marsan. A “normal” closure, the time to assess the causes “of this tragedy. An inspection and control mission by doctors from the Regional Health Agency was also dispatched to the clinic and hospital in Orthez in order to analyze the circumstances of the accident and to verify the safety conditions of the anesthesia activity, which is the responsibility of the private establishment.
The anesthetist who assisted the young mother was arrested Tuesday in a state of intoxication. During his hearing, this doctor would have explained to be suffering from depression and would have recognized an addiction to alcohol. The Pau public prosecutor’s office evokes a “pathological alcohol problem”.
The anesthetist was indicted and placed in detention for “manslaughter aggravated by the manifest and deliberate violation of an obligation of prudence and safety”, an offense punishable by 5 years imprisonment, according to the prosecutor.
