After the massive allegations against the Bonn child psychiatrist Michael Winterhoff, the first criminal complaint against the doctor was filed with the Bonn public prosecutor. It comes from the Siegburg lawyer Mehmet Daimagüler, who also represented relatives of victims in the NSU trial in Munich. There is “the initial suspicion of bodily harm and serious bodily harm, billing fraud” and possibly other criminal offenses, it says in the ad.
WDR and Southgerman newspaper had reported on the treatment methods of the well-known child psychiatrist, who wrote numerous books and was repeatedly a guest on talk shows. Former patients have made grave allegations against him. Winterhoff prescribed strongly sedating neuroleptics, sometimes without a diagnosis. In particular, many of those affected had to take the drug pipamperon for years. The doctor admits that.
The drugs Winterhoff prescribed can cause numerous side effects. They range from fatigue to severe weight gain to diabetes and heart disease. Studies suggest that they help reduce brain mass. On request, Winterhoff had initially announced that the use of pipamperon was harmless as long as the treatment was controlled by child psychiatrists. He later stated that he did not consider the use of drugs in children to be safe, as side effects could occur. Therefore, he weighs the benefits and risks of drug treatment.
His diagnoses are not recognized in the professional world
Parents and guardians of the children, many of whom were in youth welfare facilities, complained that they had not been adequately informed about the medication. In at least one case, the legal guardians were apparently not informed at all. According to Winterhoff, it was a misunderstanding.
In some cases, the children’s legal guardians found that Winterhoff had billed a different diagnosis to the health insurance company than what he stated to them. WDR and SZ spoke to more than 20 former patients and viewed their documents. Winterhoff gave them all the diagnosis “developmental retardation with fixation in early childhood narcissism” and “parent-child symbiosis”. He also describes this clinical picture in his books. In professional circles, however, the diagnosis is not recognized, it does not appear in any textbook.
According to information from WDR and SZ, other victims want to take legal action against the Bonn child psychiatrist. Corresponding criminal charges are currently being prepared and will be submitted to the public prosecutor in the next few days.