The San Isidro Oral Court has resumed hearings in the case investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Diego Armando Maradona, which occurred in November 2020, when the former player was 60 years old. This Tuesday, the Argentine court dedicated the session to hearing the testimonies of Mariano Perroni, nursing coordinator, and Nancy Forlini, home care coordinator at the healthcare company Swiss Medical. The hearing also included the participation of Dalma Maradona, daughter of the sporting idol and one of the main voices in the formal accusation. The case analyzes the criminal responsibility of seven health professionals in carrying out the patient’s treatment during his last weeks of life.
Home care structure becomes the focus of investigations
The current phase of the trial focuses efforts on detailing how the care logistics worked in the rented residence in the San Andrés neighborhood, in the Tigre region. Perroni and Forlini, who until then had not presented their complete versions in the new judicial process that began in April 2026, responded to incisive questions about the medical hierarchy. The prosecution seeks to clearly understand who made the final decisions about administering medications and monitoring vital signs. The previous process had been annulled due to judicial irregularities, which forced the reopening of the entire investigation and testimony collection phase.
Prosecutors argue that the home hospitalization set up after brain surgery presented serious structural flaws that were incompatible with the clinical picture. The former athlete had undergone a complex procedure to drain a subdural hematoma weeks before his death. According to the case records, the environment did not have the basic equipment necessary for a cardiological emergency. There was a lack of defibrillators, adequate oxygen tubes and continuous monitors. This lack of infrastructure directly contradicts the standard protocols required for patients with the history of comorbidities presented by him.
The coordinators’ defense attempts to demonstrate that the guidelines strictly followed the guidelines established by the direct assistant doctors who were in charge of the case. During their speeches before the judges, professionals from the healthcare company argued about the legal and practical limits of their professional activities within the residence. The documentary analysis of text and audio message exchanges between the nursing team on duty and supervisors constitutes one of the main pieces of evidence evaluated by judges at this procedural point, seeking to identify omissions of assistance.
Dalma Maradona’s participation reinforces family demands for justice
Dalma Maradona’s court appearance added a layer of intense emotional tension to the hearing. As a plaintiff in the case, the family has maintained a firm and unwavering stance in demanding severe sentences for everyone involved in the chain of care. The daughter’s testimony addressed the immense difficulties in communicating with the medical team in the days before the fatal cardiorespiratory arrest. She also described in detail her father’s deteriorating physical and cognitive state during the last visits allowed by caregivers.
The former player’s daughters support the central thesis that their father was deliberately isolated from his inner circle and left to his own devices by professionals hired specifically to protect him. Lawyers representing the family seek to prove through reports that warnings about worsening health were systematically ignored by the coordination. The formal accusation points to the legal nature of negligent homicide, with aggravating factors that suggest possible intent. This typification occurs when the perpetrator assumes the risk of causing death, even without the direct intention to kill.
If the judges accept the Public Prosecutor’s complaint in its entirety, the sentences imposed on the defendants can reach up to 25 years in prison in the Argentine penitentiary system. Prosecutors work on the technical premise that the healthcare team had sufficient knowledge to predict the imminent lethal outcome. Despite the clear signs of multiple failure, those responsible chose not to change the course of therapeutic treatment or request an immediate transfer to a highly complex hospital unit, which could have reversed the situation.
Central points analyzed by the prosecution in the judicial process
The new trial revisits extensive expert reports and medical documents accumulated over years of police investigation. A medical panel previously convened by the Public Prosecutor’s Office had already issued a scathing and detailed report on the multiple deficiencies in the care provided in the makeshift nursing home. The technical document serves as the backbone for the interrogations conducted by prosecutors against the seven defendants.
- Absolute lack of advanced life support equipment in the inpatient residence in Tigre.
- Absence of a general practitioner designated to coordinate the patient’s complex picture of comorbidities.
- Serious failures in daily communication between nurses on duty and Swiss Medical supervisors.
- Obvious signs of cardiological warning and swelling ignored in the crucial 48 hours before death.
The thorough review of these technical elements requires the San Isidro Oral Court to hear from dozens of witnesses over the next few weeks. The list includes independent forensic experts, toxicologists, cardiologists and former employees who were part of the former athlete’s daily environment. The complexity of the general clinical picture, which involved a history of chemical dependency, untreated chronic heart problems and recent neurological recovery, makes the exact delimitation of responsibilities a legal challenge of great proportions for judges.
Legal developments and schedule of upcoming hearings
The court’s official calendar provides for continuous weekly sessions to ensure the hearing of all parties involved without compromising the progress of other criminal proceedings in the jurisdiction. The magistrates responsible for the case determined a strict schedule to avoid further delays or delaying maneuvers. The court considers the immense international repercussion of the case and the constant public pressure for a definitive verdict. Security around the judicial building was significantly reinforced by local police to control access for the world press and protesters.
In the next few days of the trial, the main expectation falls on the testimonies of the doctors who signed the prescriptions and defined the global therapeutic strategy. The expected confrontation between the reports of nurses who completed exhaustive daily shifts and the orders issued by home care coordinators should clarify the gaps regarding nighttime monitoring. The crossing of telephone data, application messages and time records will continue to be explored exhaustively by the prosecution team to dismantle alibis.
The Argentine justice system treats the progress of this process as a fundamental milestone in national jurisprudence on medical liability in home hospitalizations. The judges’ final decision will not only define the future and freedom of the seven health professionals sitting in the dock. The ruling will also establish lasting legal precedents regarding the limits, protocols and legal obligations of home care businesses across the country. The procedural process remains under rigorous public scrutiny, with defense teams preparing complex technical resources to try to challenge the validity of the criminal expertise presented so far.
