The Foundation For The Defense Of The Citizens Against State Abuses (FACIAS) continues the fight for justice in the case of Andrei Drăgan, the 16 year old teenager who was left to die in a hospital in Târgu Jiu in November 2024, after the doctors who should have saved his life refused to operate. FACIAS has asked the Public Prosecutor's Office of the Gorj Tribunal to explain why, 15 months after the opening of the criminal case, the investigation has not been finalized and the doctors responsible have still not been brought to trial.
On Monday, February 23, 2026, there will be a trial on the request to accelerate the completion of the prosecution. Judges are to set a deadline by which prosecutors are obliged to complete the investigation into Andrei's case.
The case is currently maintained at a preliminary stage, in rem, without the prosecutors having indicted any person. The rapid resolution of the criminal proceedings represents the obligation of the judicial bodies to conduct the criminal prosecution and trial within a reasonable time, without undue delay, so that the rights of the parties are effectively protected, a principle guaranteed by the Romanian Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights.
The way the authorities are handling the death of a child in a public health facility directly affects citizens' trust in the medical system. The fact that the criminal case has remained unresolved for almost a year and a half, without an indictment or a clear solution being issued, only prolongs the state of uncertainty and leaves the impression that medical negligence may go unpunished.
FACIAS is demanding justice for Andrei and will pursue all legal proceedings until those responsible are held accountable. The death of a 16-year-old teenager due to the refusal of doctors to provide surgical intervention cannot remain a mere statistic, and those responsible must not go unpunished because of bureaucracy or institutional inaction.
FACIAS, together with patients' associations in Romania, calls on the Ministry of Health to urgently initiate a project to amend the procedure for resolving malpractice complaints, so that patients and their families have access to a clear, accessible and efficient procedure, and so that medical responsibility is no longer bogged down in bureaucracy and endless processes.