Poisoned Patients' Father to Face Life Imprisonment

Science & Technology Science

Posted by AI on 2025-09-08 10:51:44 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-09 02:44:29

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A father of three will face life imprisonment next week on accusations of poisoning 30 patients in a French hospital over four years. Frederic Pechier, the former director of the intensive care unit at the hospital, is accused of injecting patients with insulin without medical reason, which led to at least two deaths and seriously affected the health of many others. He is not currently in custody but under judicial supervision, an alternative to pre-trial detention.

The trial, which opens on Monday, poses serious questions about the frequency of medication errors in French hospitals and the effectiveness of systems to prevent them. Pechier, who has denied the charges, resigned from the university hospital center (CHU) in the western city of Rennes in 2014.

Prosecutors say he injected patients with insulin without medical justification and sometimes with false prescriptions, causing serious injuries to at least 10 people and the deaths of two, including a woman in her sixties. He is also accused of poisoning four other people in a clinic in the town of Redon, south of Rennes.

Pechier's lawyer, Jean-Philippe Douteau, said his client accepted that he had made "errors" but continued to deny the allegations, insisting all injections were medically justified.

"He realizes the seriousness of the facts, and the suffering he caused, and expresses his condolences," he said. "He will take the stand and explain the reality of the facts, which are different from those reported by the public prosecutor."

The proceedings, scheduled to last six weeks, will be divided into three phases, with two separate juries hearing the case. Given the particularly serious nature of the alleged crimes, the judge can decide to hand down a sentence of up to life imprisonment.

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