Naples, death of little Domenico al Monaldi: nine suspects

Domenico's death, two health workers from Bolzano under investigation

The two new suspects are a coordinator and a social and health worker from the Bolzano hospital. They will be heard in the coming weeks by the investigators, in the presence of their lawyer. The decision of the Naples Prosecutor's Office, with the prosecutor Giuseppe Tittaferrante and the deputy prosecutor Antonio Ricci, comes as part of the investigations conducted by the Nas carabinieri, based on the elements that emerged from the evidentiary incident ordered by the investigating judge Mariano Sorrentino.

The two doctors join the seven doctors and technicians from the Neapolitan hospital already under investigation for voluntary manslaughter. The Bolzano Health Authority has made it known that it continues to collaborate with the judicial authorities, specifying that it does not wish to make further statements on the ongoing investigations.

The heart froze during transport to Naples

According to what was reconstructed in the investigation, after the heart was removed in Bolzano, the team from Monaldi had asked to add more ice to the container used for transport, a model now considered outside the guidelines. The Neapolitan health workers had been provided with synthetic ice capable of reaching temperatures close to 80 degrees below zero.

Due to time pressure, the team left for Naples. Only upon arrival at Monaldi did the doctors realize that the heart was completely frozen and irremediably compromised. Despite an attempt to recover the organ, it was decided to proceed with the transplant anyway, which however failed. Domenico was then connected to the Ecmo extracorporeal circulation system and transferred to intensive care, where he died on February 21st.

Died after a heart transplant, the family of a little girl puts Monaldi in default

Another story concerns a little girl who died on March 27, 2023, at the age of two years and three months, after having undergone a heart transplant in 2021 in the same hospital. The family, assisted by the lawyer Francesco Petruzzi, sent a letter of formal notice to Monaldi.

According to a medical-legal and infectious disease consultancy drawn up by party consultants Luca Scognamiglio and Vincenzo Iovinella, the little girl was the victim of a nosocomial infection that was not adequately treated. The two professionals identify possible responsibilities in the treatment and describe terminal biological and moral damage. At the moment, these are the conclusions of the consultants appointed by the family.

The Domenico Caliendo Foundation and the other reported cases

The little girl's case is the first case taken over by the Domenico Caliendo Foundation, of which the lawyer Petruzzi is vice-president. Two other deaths of children which occurred in 2023 were also brought to the organisation's attention. "We are waiting to know who the three deaths are to which one of the doctors involved in the investigation into Domenico's failed transplant refers in a WhatsApp message acquired by the Naples Prosecutor's Office", declared Petruzzi. At the moment, the agencies do not indicate a confirmed connection between these episodes and Domenico's death.

Failed transplant, two days of hearings in Naples

Meanwhile, the investigation into Domenico's death continues with two days of hearings scheduled for 12 and 13 November at the Naples court. The examination and cross-examination of the consultants appointed in the context of the evidentiary incident will take place in front of the investigating judge Mariano Sorrentino: professors Biagio Solarino, Ugolino Livi and Ferdinando Luca Lorini. The investigations concern the circumstances of the failed transplant and any responsibilities in the management and transport of the organ intended for the child.