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🇺🇾 Uruguay /Crime & Justice

Medical Ethics Tribunal agrees to investigate anesthetist Miralles after repeated refusals

From El País · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Uruguay’s Medical Ethics Tribunal has accepted a complaint against anesthetist Inés Miralles, who was convicted of negligent homicide over a patient’s death after surgery.
  • The tribunal had rejected four previous attempts to investigate the case and will now determine whether Miralles committed an ethical violation.
  • Miralles has 15 working days to respond and present evidence, while the complainant also filed a case against Public Health Minister Cristina Lustemberg over a reduced administrative ban.

After four previous refusals, Uruguay’s Medical Ethics Tribunal has agreed to investigate a complaint against anesthetist Inés Miralles, who was convicted by the courts of negligent homicide.

assume jurisdiction and admit the complaint

· Medical Ethics TribunalThe tribunal’s resolution formally opened the ethics case.

The case concerns the treatment of Soledad Barrera during surgery in late October 2023. Barrera died months later as a result of malpractice suffered during the procedure, according to the complaint. The tribunal, which operates under the Medical Association of Uruguay, said it would assume jurisdiction, admit the complaint and provisionally define the proceedings’ subject as whether an ethical violation occurred in Miralles’ conduct.

whether there was an ethical violation in Dr. María Inés Miralles’ procedure, based on the facts identified in the complaint

· Medical Ethics TribunalThis is the provisional subject of the investigation.

The tribunal has given the doctor 15 working days to answer the complaint and submit evidence. Rosario Barrera and her husband, represented by lawyer Pablo Schiavi, listed about 10 alleged breaches of the Medical Ethics Code. They cited duties involving patient health, respect for life and human dignity, responsibility for the quality of care, accurate medical records and respect for people who place their trust in doctors.

There is no justification for reducing the penalty of a person involved in a case of this seriousness, linked to fentanyl consumption, which led the entire Health Commission to resign.

· Pablo SchiaviThe lawyer criticized the reduction of Miralles’ administrative suspension.

Barrera also filed a complaint against Public Health Minister Cristina Lustemberg. The complaint concerns the minister’s decision to reduce Miralles’ administrative suspension from five years to three after a public health commission investigated the case. Schiavi said the case involved fentanyl consumption and had led the entire health commission to resign. National Party lawmaker Federico Casaretto called the process required to admit the malpractice case “incredible” and said he expected a similar ruling on the complaint against Lustemberg.

It is incredible everything that had to happen for a malpractice case against an anesthetist convicted of negligent homicide to be admitted.

· Federico CasarettoThe lawmaker criticized the tribunal’s earlier refusals.
About this summary

Originally published by El País in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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