He first try by death in a residence during the Covid-19 pandemic in Spain was seen this Thursday to be sentenced to Alcoy (Alicante) with the two initial antagonistic positions of the relatives of the victims and those responsible for the center. “They trusted», summarized the lawyer for the 46 plaintiffs – relatives of the 18 victims – while the defense attributed these deaths to other pathologies and denied any negligence.
Throughout the sessions, the former highlighted the lack of sufficient staff to care for residents and the inhumane conditions, in the presence of Dr. Manuel Pérez Bosch, head of the Home Hospitalization Unit of the Virgen de los Lirios Hospital of Alcoy. to intervene with a team of doctors and nurses from the residence, and recounted how they found sick people on the ground begging to be “taken out of there”. It was also ensured that living elderly people lived in the same room as other deceased people.
However, those in charge of the center have denied credibility to these circumstances and ensured that the “sectorization” was carried out on the orders of the health authorities and at all times they accomplished THE protocolsalso highlighting the “catastrophic” global context.
Trial session for deaths at Alcoy Senior Center
The president of the Association of relatives concerned in the Domus Vi residences of Alcoy and Cocentaina, Jose Luis Garciahad an impact on the last session of the trial at the Alcoy center – where 74 residents diedhalf of the total –, on the “strength of the facts”. Among other details, they highlighted that no deaths occurred in the facilities located in the other neighboring municipality, owned by the same company. “They did not take it seriously and when they wanted to do it, it was too late,” added the prosecution lawyer.
“We will never think that our loved ones were the object of bad luck or chance. What we are looking for in a residential center is support, protection and care, and obviously something in this process failed, so that 74 people died in a month and a half”, García emphasized to the end of this trial concluded after eight sessions with a request compensation for 2.3 million of euros.
García regretted that the defense maintained its attempt to “disqualify” any of the testimonies, both that of Dr. Manuel Pérez and that of other family members and workers.
“This residence had given priority to the collection of advantage economical for the attention and care of users. When they wanted to implement the relevant measures, they arrived late and there was no way to stop the track of death“García emphasized.
The trial had to be suspended in February due to the lack of documents from the denounced residence and has now concluded with the presentation of the conclusions of all parties, both the family members and the management company of the residence and the insurance company, after two weeks during which more than thirty people, including witnesses and experts, appeared in court.
“The visitors have entered”
In the line of defense it was indicated that the measure of isolation between residents to avoid contagion – called “sectorization” – was “ineffective because they continued family entering and employees, who had no restrictions outside.
The lawyer of the residence and the representatives of the insurance company (Mapfre) agreed to discredit the behavior of certain relatives of the deceased who joined this trial – in which those of all the victims are not included, for economic reasons –. No to have “visited for years“to his loved ones.
They also reduced the credibility of some pre-pandemic complaints, exposed during the trial to show that the mismanagement came from afar, because, according to them, these were gastroenteritis and minor problems of subjective evaluation. Concerning the amount of compensation requested, they considered it “scandalous and offensive”.
