The Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Kotor is investigating why none of the doctors on duty at the "Vaso Ćuković" Special Hospital for Orthopedics, Neurosurgery and Neurology in Risno reported to the police or the competent prosecutor that the young man from Beran, J. Š. (32) died three days after he was admitted to that institution with injuries after the accident near Kotor.
Whether it is just an accidental omission by the employees of the hospital or whether there is a criminal offense behind it all will be determined by the prosecutor's office, which confirmed to "Vijesta" that the investigation into the case has been opened.
"After learning about the event, the Basic State Prosecutor's Office in Kotor formed a case and it is in the investigation phase. Acting prosecutor undertakes actions with the aim of accurately establishing the factual situation", writes in the answer of the prosecutor/spokesperson in the ODT Kotor Ana Marinović.
Due to the case in Risno, the Ministry of Health will open an internal investigation to determine why no one at the "Vaso Ćuković" hospital informed the police and the competent prosecutor for four days, and they are obliged to do so, that the young man died from injuries sustained in a traffic accident.
"We learned about the case only on Friday morning from non-medical sources and we will deal with the case very responsibly. Due to this obvious omission, shifts in that hospital will also follow", it was announced unofficially from the Ministry headed by Dr. Jelena Borovinić Bojović.
Kotor and Risan
The accident on the Tivat-Budva highway took place on May 12, in the town of Kovačko polje near Kotor, and the deceased young man was a passenger in the car.
After the accident, J. Š. was initially transferred to the Kotor hospital due to his injuries, and the first findings of the doctor, which were delivered to the police and the prosecutor from Kotor, Anđa Radović, were that the young man suffered only minor physical injuries.
After the inspection in Kotor, J. Š. was transported to "Vaso Ćuković" hospital, where, due to severe head injuries and rapid loss of consciousness, he underwent emergency surgery the same night.
The young man was treated in that hospital for three days, and died on May 15. The following day, his body was handed over to his family, who buried him in Berane.
If the death of the young man had occurred, the hospital kept quiet that day, as well as the following four days, and they were obliged by law to do so immediately.
It was only on May 19, four days after the death of the young man from Beran, that the police in Kotor received the information that J. Š had died, following operational data. They informed prosecutor Radović about this.
Statements of directors, doctors...
During the investigation, the prosecutor from Kotor already took statements from the director of the "Vaso Ćuković" hospital in Risno, Dr. Vlado Popović, as well as several doctors on duty who were on duty when the young man died in that institution.
The ODT asked the police to collect information on all information - the police report from the scene of the accident, official notes, but also medical documentation on the course of treatment of J. Š.
Only when all the evidence is collected will the ODT make a decision in this case.
Popović: Failure that the duty service did not notify the police in writing, the officers were not interested in the patient's condition, although this is the practice
The director of the "Vaso Ćuković" hospital in Risn, Dr. Vlado Popović, said in his reply to "Vijesta" that the patient was referred for a CT scan of the brain upon admission, due to the rapid deterioration of the condition and massive bleeding from the left ear.
"During the diagnostic work-up, the patient's state of consciousness worsened from marked psychomotor restlessness to coma, with wide unreactive pupils and signs of decerebration on the extremities. CT scan of the brain indicated a multifragmentary fracture of the bones of the skull vault, Ii's parietal temple, a fracture of the middle floor of the base of the skull, and a massive epidural hematoma on the left temple, the largest thickness of about 30 mm, and diffuse contusions of the brain, on the right frontal temple," Popović explained and said that an emergency operation was immediately performed, evacuation of the epidural hematoma, and the patient was then placed in the intensive care unit.
According to Popović, the control scanner indicated evacuation of the hematoma, but even more significant demarcation of contusion foci on the opposite side, with diffuse brain edema, after which, despite all measures, death occurred on May 15 at 18 p.m., which the nurse was informed about. deceased.
He believes that the omission is that the duty service did not inform the police officers in writing, but he also points out that they were not interested in the patient's health condition.
"Given that from 12.05.2021/XNUMX/XNUMX, when the on-duty technician informed the on-duty police officer about the patient's serious condition and possible bad outcome, none of the police officers were interested in the patient's health condition, nor did our institution receive a single inquiry from the police even though "It is almost a daily practice for police officers to ask for a written statement from a doctor about injuries immediately after receiving the injured," said Popović.
He adds that they were told by the police that they sent the degree of injuries to the public prosecutor based on the report of the duty surgeon of OB Kotor, which were categorized as minor, which is probably why there was a failure in communication with the hospital.
"Certainly, it cannot be treated that "Risan Hospital was silent for four days that the patient died" because there is no basis or reason for this, since the patient's relatives and friends were immediately informed about the patient's death, who had previously shown permanent interest on our part. In addition, it is not a practice to notify the Ministry of Health in the event of a patient's death, and regarding the failure of the on-call service to notify the Police in writing (regardless of the late hours on the first day of the weekend), the Hospital initiated a procedure to determine responsibility," concluded Popović.
Bonus video:
