Two consecutive hearings in the case of medical negligence by Odrex doctors postponed due to absence of defense lawyers
Kyiv • UNN
Two consecutive court hearings in the case of medical negligence by Odrex doctors have been postponed due to the absence of defense lawyers. The next hearing is scheduled for July 30. Meanwhile, the accused surgeon Vitaliy Rusakov publicly states that court hearings should take place no more than once a month.
Two consecutive court hearings in the criminal case against doctors of the private clinic Odrex, Vitalii Rusakov and Maryna Bielotserkovska, who are accused of medical negligence, were postponed due to the absence of defense lawyers. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for July 30, reports UNN.
This concerns criminal proceedings against surgeon Vitalii Rusakov and oncologist Maryna Bielotserkovska, who are accused under Part 1 of Article 140 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – improper performance of professional duties by medical workers.
According to the investigation, after the operation, the doctors may not have prescribed their patient Adnan Kivan the necessary antibacterial therapy and may have inadequately responded to postoperative complications. According to the conclusions of the forensic medical examination, this could have led to the development of sepsis and death. The accused do not admit their guilt.
Currently, the court is at the stage of examining evidence. At this stage, medical documentation, conclusions of forensic medical examinations, clinical protocols, and other case materials are to be studied.
Meanwhile, one of the accused – surgeon Vitalii Rusakov – in his video blogs criticizes the intensity of the trial. In particular, he states that his criminal case should be heard no more than once a month.
"Why does Judge Viktor Chaplytskyi consider serious and especially serious crimes once a month, but my case daily?" – Rusakov accuses the judge.
The defense lawyers of the accused also expressed a similar position during the trial. At the same time, the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine imposes on the court the obligation to ensure the consideration of the case within a reasonable time. Therefore, the regular scheduling of court hearings in itself does not indicate a violation of the rights of the parties, but on the contrary corresponds to one of the basic principles of criminal proceedings.
Moreover, if court hearings actually do not take place due to constant postponements, claims about the allegedly excessively high intensity of the trial look at least false.
Reminder
Earlier, experts have already noted that in the case of the death of Adnan Kivan, the time factor is of fundamental importance. After all, each postponement of the hearing brings the criminal proceedings closer to the expiration of the statute of limitations. The President of the All-Ukrainian Association of Retired Judges, Denys Neviadomskyi, emphasized that the court should respond to abuses of procedural rights if they lead to a delay in the consideration of the case.
UNN also drew attention that the law allows for disciplinary liability of lawyers for systematic or gross violation of the Rules of Attorney Ethics. In particular, if it concerns unjustified delay of the trial.