The Remiremont hospital in the Vosges must now deal with seven complaints, and perhaps soon eight, after the deaths of patients deemed suspicious by their relatives, according to the public prosecutor of Epinal, Frédéric Nahon. Following these complaints, four judicial inquiries were opened for manslaughter – including a fifth most probably – another for involuntary injuries and finally another for research into the causes of death.
Maître Nancy Risacher, who is following six of the seven complaints, indicates that she is “in the process of writing” an eighth for manslaughter. Only one of her clients has so far been heard by the investigating judge, she said. The lawyer indicated, moreover, to have been contacted by “several other people” and to be in the process of examining these files to see if other complaints could come out of them.
An association of relatives of deceased patients
An association of relatives of deceased patients should soon see the light of day, under the leadership of Angélique Souque, whose mother died in July at the Vosges hospital after an operation on the neck of the femur. Called “AJC for them” – the initials of Angélique and her sisters Jennifer and Céline -, its statutes were filed Thursday at the Vosges prefecture, according to the electronic acknowledgment of receipt consulted by AFP. Its purpose is to “help, assist” and “bring together the families” of patients who died at Remiremont hospital, said Angélique Souque.
Contacted by AFP, the lawyer for the Remiremont hospital, Maître Frédéric Berna, deplored the “media hype” around the file, judging “bold to lead a campaign against the hospital when we know the difficulties today French hospitals. At the beginning of January, elected officials from the Vosges had given their support to the teams of the Remiremont hospital center, denouncing “press campaigns” having “targeted” the establishment.