The Kyiv District Court of Odesa was unable to continue hearing the case concerning the medical negligence of doctors at the private Odrex clinic. All three hearings scheduled for November 11, 12, and 13 were postponed following motions filed by the defense lawyers of the accused, Vitaliy Rusakov. According to UNN sources, the reason was the extension of the lawyer's leave. Presiding Judge Viktor Chaplytskyi said he would be forced to appeal again to the Bar's Qualification and Disciplinary Commission, UNN reports.
Details
As our sources reported, the defense lawyers of the accused surgeon, Vitaliy Rusakov, once again filed motions to postpone the court hearings. This time, the lawyers explained their inability to participate in the proceedings by the extension of one of the defense lawyers' leave. As a result, the court was forced to postpone three consecutive hearings. The next hearing is scheduled for November 19.
The latest postponements prompted a reaction from Presiding Judge Viktor Chaplytskyi. He said he was forced to appeal to the Bar's Qualification and Disciplinary Commission for a second time regarding the actions of the defense lawyers representing the accused doctors.
This is not the first reaction by the court to the systematic nonappearance of the lawyers representing the accused doctors. Back in September, Presiding Judge Chaplytskyi deemed the reasons for Rusakov's defense lawyers' absence from a number of hearings unjustified and sent the corresponding ruling to the QDCA to address the issue of possible disciplinary liability. However, despite this, the number of postponed hearings increased in October.
According to UNN's calculations, only six of the 13 hearings scheduled in September took place in full. October proved even less productive: the court was able to hold only three of the 16 hearings, while the remaining 13 were postponed following motions from the defense.
The situation did not significantly improve in November. After the November 5 hearing was postponed for technical reasons, the court managed to resume consideration of the case on November 6. However, the next three hearings were postponed again.
The systematic postponements are raising increasingly more questions about the prospects of completing the trial. After all, in the case concerning the medical negligence of Odrex doctors, the limitation periods for bringing the accused to criminal liability are of particular importance. If they expire before a verdict is delivered, the criminal proceedings may, under the conditions provided by law, be closed without a final determination of the accused's guilt or innocence.
Background
At the center of the high-profile trial are the circumstances surrounding the death of Odesa businessman and founder of KADORR Group Adnan Kivan, who died in October 2024 at the private Odrex clinic.
The defendants are surgeon Vitaliy Rusakov and oncologist Maryna Bielotserkovska. Both are accused of improper performance of their professional duties under Part 1 of Article 140 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
According to the investigation, after the operation, the medical staff may have failed to prescribe the patient the necessary antibacterial therapy and to respond properly to postoperative complications. According to the findings of the forensic medical examination, this could have led to the development of sepsis, which caused the businessman's death.
At the same time, neither doctor admits guilt. The court is to provide the final legal assessment of their actions. However, due to the numerous postponements of the hearings, the question of whether the court will manage to complete consideration of the case before the limitation periods expire is becoming increasingly pressing.