In a groundbreaking ruling, President Alexandros Panagiotou of Larnaca District Court has declared a legal and a natural person guilty in connection with the death of the former director of the Department of Civil Aviation, Iacovou Dimitriou.
Simultaneously, compensation totaling €245,000 (€228,000 as dependency and €17,000 as bereavement) was awarded to the two plaintiffs, Christiana Dimitriou (the deceased’s spouse) and Marina Dimitriou.
As stated in the 55-page verdict, President Alexandros Panagiotou affirmed that the accused individual 2, who served as the First Aid doctor in a private hospital, “failed in the duty of care owed to the deceased.”
He further elaborated that Iacovou Dimitriou, relying on the expected skill of a First Aid doctor, was placed under the care of accused individual 2 in the First Aid Department of the plaintiff’s clinic.
The failure of the accused individual 2 to properly assess the clinical condition of the deceased, in conjunction with his medical history, resulted in an incorrect diagnosis.
This ultimately led to the death of the deceased from a myocardial infarction, which accused individual 2 failed to diagnose.
Representing the plaintiffs, administrators of Iacovou Dimitriou’s estate, were attorneys Simos Angelides and Ms. Eugeniou (“Andreas S. Angelidis LLC”) and Mr. Laurentis Dimitriou.
According to the case details, on the afternoon of April 19, 2014, Iacovou Dimitriou experienced discomfort and chest pain. Together with his wife, due to overcrowding at Larnaca General Hospital, they decided to visit the First Aid Department of a private hospital, around 17:00.
However, the convicted doctor considered the pain to be merely muscular, administered an injection, and discharged Mr. Dimitriou with a recommendation for muscle relaxant tablets. The deceased had returned home with his wife around 19:00.
Yet, around 03:00 am the next morning (April 20, 2014), he experienced a sudden deterioration in his condition.
When the clinic’s ambulance, notified by his wife, arrived at 03:30 am, the patient had lost consciousness and turned blue. Despite the efforts of the ambulance personnel to provide assistance, they were unsuccessful. Subsequently, they informed an ambulance from Larnaca General Hospital.
When the patient was transferred to the public hospital, his death was confirmed. A post-mortem conducted on April 21, 2014, revealed that Iacovou Dimitriou’s death was caused by a myocardial infarction.
