The doctor charged with causing the death of a new mother claims to have provided proper medical assistance and pleads not guilty
11:46, June 22, 2018 | News, Own news | Right to Life | Lia Misakyan
On June 20, 2018, the examination of the case of two-year-and-three-month-old Lia Misakyan, who died at Arabkir Medical Center in January 2013, continued at the Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan.
A charge was brought against doctors Lilit Vardanyan and Zarine Ayvazyan under Article 130 § 2 of the RA Criminal Code.
It should be recalled that, on December 22, 2015, Zarine Ayvazyan and Lilit Vardanyan, doctors at the medical center, were sentenced to imprisonment for failure to implement professional duties without an additional punishment being imposed. On June 24, 2016, on the basis of the appeal by the representatives of Lia Misakyan’s legal successors, namely A. Sakunts, HCA Vanadzor Chairman, and T. Siradeghyan, lawyer at HCA Vanadzor’s representative office in Yerevan, the RA Court of Cassation sent the case to the court of first instance for a new investigation with regard to imposing an additional punishment.
Yerem Sargsyan and Karen Mezhlumyan, Z. Ayvazyan’s defenders, did not show up at the court. The court considered Y. Sargsyan’s absence justified as he had submitted an application, informing the court that he would be unable to show up at the court due to his business with another court session.
As to K. Mezhlumyan’s absence, the court considered it unjustified as he had not informed about the reasons for not showing up.
At the previous court session, the accusing party delivered a closing statement. At this court session, defendant L. Vardanyan and her defense lawyer G. Hovhannisyan also delivered a closing statement.
G. Hovhannisyan mentioned in the closing statement that the Court of General Jurisdiction of First Instance of Yerevan’s Kentron and Nork-Marash Administrative Districts had obviously rendered an unlawful judicial act and had rendered it on the basis of emotions. The defender mentioned that, following the delivery of the unlawful decision, L. Vardanyan had an emotional outburst and she made statements which cannot be considered as characteristic of her personality. The defender noted that in recent years L. Vardanyan, the defendant, had participated in multiple trainings, received awards and acquired knowledge to be used in her professional activity.
L. Vardanyan’s defender considered impermissible the submission of a motion by the accusing party on applying an additional punishment when the accuser had not appealed the court decision. Apart from that, he mentioned that the statute of limitations for subjecting her to criminal liability had expired, which the accusing party did not pay attention to. Thus, G. Hovhannisyan found that no additional punishment had to be applied.
L. Vardanyan also delievered a closing statement. In her speech, she noted that the representative of the victim’s legal successor should not evaluate her knowledge and the opportunity to continue her work activity. She mentioned that the patient’s death was tough for her as it would be for any other doctor. However, she was not guilty of causing Lia Misakyan’s death; she provided proper medical assistance and was not guilty that on the given day the laboratory was not working, or the medical tests were not taken in time.
In order to give Z. Ayvazyan’s defenders the opportunity to deliver a closing statement, the court session was adjourned and re-scheduled for 4.30 pm on August 10, 2018.