Maradona death trial: psychiatrist says the family agreed to home care

Agustina Cosachov, the psychiatrist who treated Argentine football superstar Diego Maradona, testified during the trial over the former football star’s death that his family was “in agreement” with the plan to place him in home care, something that, according to an investigation, contributed to his untimely demise in 2020. The psychiatrist, one of eight people who stand accused of failing to administer proper medical care to Maradona, asked to testify in the latest hearing on Thursday, giving her version of events. She said she began treating Maradona after being recommended to the star’s primary physician, Leopoldo Luque, and sought to challenge the family’s claim that she and Luque had pushed for at-home care. “In my opinion, the best solution was taking him to a rehabilitation center, as [medical services provider] Swiss Medical suggested,” she said. “But Maradona was a patient in full use of his capacities, and he wanted to leave.” During her testimony, Cosachov showed chats in which she asked Maradona’s family whether they agreed with the home care proposal. She read a reply from one of Maradona’s children saying a “well-thought-out home hospitalization” would be “perfect.” She also said she had requested a full team of doctors and nurses, along with the necessary medical equipment, to be available at the home and received approval from the provider, though many of those resources were ultimately never supplied. ‘Everybody signed in agreement’ The other witness of the day was Mariana Flichman, the medical examiner who prepared Maradona’s discharge papers from the Olivos Clinic, where he underwent surgery to remove a hematoma from his head. Flichman said that the “doctors didn’t believe it was safe” to take Maradona to home care and “wanted the decision documented.” She also noted there was a meeting between the clinic doctors, Maradona’s team, and the family, during which the discharge document was read aloud and “everybody signed in agreement.” However, Flichman contradicted Cosachov’s statement, saying the medical services provider offered “home care” rather than hospitalization, and “everyone knew what they were signing.” She added that the discharge document established that the medical services provider’s original proposal was for Maradona to continue “psychiatric, clinical, rehabilitation, and toxicological treatment through inpatient care at a rehabilitation center with a psychiatric team” and that this was rejected by the family.