A family doctor tried after the death of a 22-month-old baby from hunger. Doctor Jean-Louis V., 62, is being prosecuted for "failure to assist a person in danger", a "rare occurrence" according to the association L'Enfant bleu, civil party after the death of little Gabin in 2013. The The attending physician pleaded the error of assessment before the criminal court of Guéret in Creuse on Thursday.
Prosecutor Bruno Sauvage, who deferred to the court's judgment, stressed that the judges must ask themselves whether or not the doctor was aware of the imminent danger to Gabin during his visits. "It is not the negligence that is alleged against him. The question is whether the doctor's behavior was intentional. Was he aware of the danger? Did he knowingly and willfully refrain from assisting Gabin? "
"I had the perfect family in front of me"
Mask on the nose, black suit, salt and pepper hair, the doctor, still working, said before the court that he had "seen nothing". “The state of Gabin did not inspire me with concern. During the consultations, he was always clean and well dressed. He was still in his mother's arms. I had the perfect family in front of me. Céline Vialette was never a problem. She was very attentive to her child. She seemed to take care of Gabin perfectly, "continued the doctor.
"Shouldn't we have been more vigilant?" Asks the president of the court Arnaud Baron, recalling that the doctor knew the social difficulties of the family, the problems of addiction of the father and that he was the confidant of the problems of couple. The doctor replied: "At the moment not specially. I had seen Céline Vialette raising Melvin [the eldest son born 5 years before Gabin], she seemed to take care of Gabin perfectly. I had more concerns about the abilities of Edouard Ruaud, the father. Céline Vialette never told me about Gabin's weight, if she told me about it it was because I asked her the question. I did not understand any danger, otherwise I would have acted. It's my job and my reason for living. ”
Gabin was the weight of a three-month-old baby when he died
Between January and June 2012, Gabin lost 400 grams. The doctor admits that he “didn't realize it. I relied on the visual state… He was born with a small weight but his curve roughly followed the curve of the WHO ”. "If you had seen, could you have saved this child?" Asked the president. " I think not. Because between the last consultation and death, his weight loss is enormous. He would still have died. The parents are the only ones responsible in this story ”.
On April 25, 2013, during his last visit to the doctor, “Gabin weighed 8,550 kg. Six weeks later, when he died "in the emergency room on June 7," he weighed only 5.825 kg. […] This is the weight he was at three months old, ”said the prosecution during the parents' trial.
Heavily sentenced parents appealed
Since Gabin's death, the doctor claims to have changed his practice: “I try to take a little more interest in growth. I write down all the weights and sizes. I never imagined making such a gross mistake. I understand that the experts can be very angry ”.
Edouard Ruaud, 40, and Céline Vialette, 34, said at the trial that they had been monopolized by difficulties in terms of couple and money. Convicted on November 15, 2019 of 17 years of criminal imprisonment - they have since appealed -, they brought a civil action and followed the trial by videoconference from their place of detention.
The judgment will be rendered on July 2.
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