Medical negligence: full acquittal “because the fact does not exist”

Criminal proceedings concerning medical negligence, brought following the death of a patient admitted to a Sicilian hospital, have ended with the acquittal of a client of Studio Penale Bellavista.

The doctor — at the time of the events the head of one of the hospital’s departments — was accused of failing to adopt the therapeutic measures that the prosecution considered necessary in managing the patient’s clinical condition.

Following particularly complex proceedings, which lasted several years and involved extensive technical argument between experts and the examination of numerous witnesses, the Court delivered a judgment of acquittal on the widest ground, “because the fact does not exist” (perché il fatto non sussiste), recognising that the medical care provided had been entirely correct.

The defence

The client was defended by Avv. Mario Bellavista, who handled the defence from the earliest stages of the preliminary investigations.

From the outset, the defence focused on a rigorous reconstruction of the clinical history and on testing the requirements for the doctor’s criminal liability: the existence of negligent conduct, the causal link between the conduct complained of and the outcome, and the compliance of the treatment with clinical guidelines and good medical practice.

Why the wording of the acquittal matters

The formula “because the fact does not exist” is the widest acquittal available under Italian law: it does not merely rule out the defendant’s liability, it denies the very existence of the alleged event.

In medical negligence proceedings, where technical assessment carries decisive weight, an outcome of this kind confirms how crucial it is to build the defence from the investigation stage onwards, in close cooperation with technical experts and with a precise reading of the scientific evidence.

Out of respect for the confidentiality of clients and of the parties involved, no names or identifying details of the people and institutions concerned by the proceedings are given.

Source: LiveSicilia