Bologna, August 1, 2026 – The family of a 64-year-old man, who died on August 8, 2024 about two months after a surgery performed at the Maggiore Hospital of Bologna to remove two small stones in a duct, has initiated a civil action against the Ausl of Bologna, seeking compensation exceeding one million euros.
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The appeal concerns a preventive technical assessment
The appeal, filed at the Civil Court of Bologna, concerns a preventive technical assessment. Judge Paola Matteucci appointed the forensic doctor Marco Scaglione as the court-appointed technical consultant, tasked with shedding light on the causes of the patient’s death. The hearing is scheduled for September 3. The civil case runs alongside the criminal proceedings arising from the complaint filed by the family members.
Request for dismissal for the two surgeons
The Prosecutor’s Office of Bologna, with public prosecutor Marco Imperato, had registered two surgeons as suspects for manslaughter. However, at the end of the investigations, a request for dismissal was made. The judge for preliminary investigations will now have to rule on the matter, following the opposition filed by the family, assisted by lawyers Chiara Rinaldi and Maria Federica Celatti. The two doctors are defended by lawyers Ciriaco Rossi and Francesco Cardile, while in the civil proceedings the Ausl is represented by lawyers Roberta Perricone and Gabriele Ghelfi.
At the heart of the dispute are the medico-legal evaluations. The family’s lawyers contest the conclusions of the expert report ordered by the Prosecutor’s Office, prepared by Mauro Pesaresi and Gian Luca Grazi.
Dies after surgery at Maggiore: family seeks one million compensation
The family’s consultants: “Injuries treated with delay”
According to the family’s consultants Donatella Fedeli and Saverio Pianalto, a high-risk procedure was adopted for the removal of the stones considering the patient’s clinical conditions and in ways deemed not compliant with the guidelines.
During the surgery, according to this reconstruction, a perforation occurred which caused subsequent complications, requiring four additional surgeries over two months, until the man’s death.
The family’s consultants also claim that the injury was diagnosed and treated late, when the clinical picture was already severely compromised.
It will now be up to the consultant appointed by the Court to evaluate the medical documentation and ascertain the causes of death, providing useful elements for the civil proceedings, while the decision of the preliminary investigations judge on the request for dismissal of the criminal investigation remains pending.
