The parents of Vincent Lambert, plunged into a vegetative state, have lodged a complaint against the Reims University Hospital for “neglect of anyone unable to protect themselves”.
This is a new twist in the Vincent Lambert affair, plunged into a vegetative state since 2008 following a car accident. Determined to keep him alive against the advice of his wife and the medical team, his parents filed a new complaint at the end of December against the University Hospital of Reims (Marne) for “neglect of a person unable to protect themselves” , said one of their lawyers, Me Jean Paillot, on Wednesday.
“We have no other solution to voice the scandalous situation in which Vincent finds himself: we hoped to be heard by the guardianship judge but he sends us out for a walk,” he told the Agency. France Presse (AFP). The lawyer also denounced “major deficiencies” in the care of the patient.
Transfer to a specialized establishment
In more detail, Vincent Lambert’s parents request the transfer of their son to a specialized establishment, while his wife Rachel, appointed guardian of her husband by decision of the Court of Cassation on December 8, is in favor of stopping care . They had already filed a handrail in 2013 and then filed a complaint in 2015 against the hospital for “attempted murder and mistreatment”.
According to Me Paillot, this new complaint – the first to register in criminal proceedings – is “a cry of alarm” from parents engaged in a fierce legal battle over the fate of their son. “Our goal is not to defeat the CHU, our goal is for Vincent to be properly treated,” he added. For its part, the University Hospital of Reims has not reacted for the moment.
Another procedure in progress
As a reminder, the establishment has in the past launched and then stopped two procedures for stopping care, one carried out by Dr Eric Kariger in 2013, the other by his successor, Dr Daniela Simon, in 2015. A process suspended by the latter, the referring doctor judging “insufficient” the conditions of serenity to make a decision.
In addition, another legal procedure has been underway since François Lambert, Vincent’s nephew, seized the administrative judge last October to order, under penalty of a fine, the Reims University Hospital to resume the procedure on a possible judgment of the patient care in accordance with this decision. In their last judicial go-all, the parents of Vincent Lambert will be received by an examining magistrate on February 8.
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