Almost two years after the death of the teenager Marius Andrei Drăgan, the Craiova Institute of Forensic Medicine completed the last part of the forensic report requested as part of the criminal investigation. The document was sent to the Prosecutor's Office on the 23rd September, 2026.
The expert report on the death of Andrei, the teenager who lost his life after doctors at the Târgu-Jiu County Emergency Hospital refused to operate him, was the last piece of evidence expected by prosecutors in order to complete the criminal investigation. Under these circumstances, FACIAS asked the prosecutors in the case to specify when they will complete the criminal investigation and when they will order the prosecution of the responsible persons.
The report of IML (=Institute of Legal Medicine) Craiova confirms that the condition Andrei was suffering from constituted a surgical emergency that put his life in danger and required immediate surgical intervention, with simultaneous application of the necessary measures in order to support vital functions.
Furthermore, the specialist assessment included in the expert report shows that, in the absence of a paediatric surgery service available to perform the intervention in a timely manner, the general surgery specialist should have intervened, as the surgical treatment of peritonitis is the same for children and adults.
Meanwhile, the Professional Jurisdiction Commission of the Gorj College of Physicians attributed the tragedy of Andrei's death to the faulty management of the Târgu-Jiu County Emergency Hospital, the Gorj County Ambulance Service and the Dolj County Ambulance Service.
FACIAS calls on prosecutors to ensure that the investigation not only focuses on the conduct of the medical staff directly involved in the care of the teenager, but also on identifying the persons with leadership and decision-making responsibilities who, by failing to fulfil their legal obligations, may have contributed to the tragedy. Any organizational and management deficiencies cannot remain as mere administrative findings, without checking the individual responsibility of the persons obliged to ensure the proper functioning of medical and emergency services.
Andrei's family has the right to justice and those responsible for this tragedy must be held accountable. Invoking poor management cannot replace the identification of the individuals whose actions or omissions contributed to the child's death.
FACIAS calls for an expeditious completion of the criminal investigation and the holding accountable, under the law, of all persons guilty of the death of Andrei Drăgan.
FACIAS continued to closely monitor this case, which, although it caused a wave of indignation in Romanian society at the time of the teenager's death, was gradually forgotten as public attention diminished. FACIAS, however, maintained this case in the attention of the authorities, constantly demanding that responsibilities be established and those responsible be held accountable.