A family doctor and a doctor of the Municipal Emergency Medical Assistance Station were found guilty of malpractice, specifically of neglect of the rules and methods of providing health care, which led to the death of a person, IPN reports.

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the doctors were sentenced to one year in jail each, but were freed from criminal responsibility in connection with the occurrence of the statute of limitations. However, the court ordered that the defendants should pay by 100,000 lei damages to the successor of the patient who died.

On February 26, 2009, a girl aged 21 from Chisinau called an ambulance at home because she felt ill. The ambulance doctor examined her superficially and misdiagnosed her with acute viral respiratory infection and drug allergy. In the evening of the same day, the girl’s state of health worsened and she called the family doctor at home. This also examined her superficially and didn’t change the previous diagnosis. The next morning, the girl died.

Examinations showed that the girl died as a result of a septic and toxic shock caused by a purulent inflammatory process in the left cheek. The victim was to be mandatorily hospitalized for lab examinations and treatment. As a result of the misdiagnosis, the doctors prescribed inappropriate treatment and the patient thus died.