The Dominican Society of Radiology has defended radiologist Orlando Duarte who was sentenced to three months in jail by the 11th Penal Court of the National District for medical malpractice in the case of the death of Maria Marcelina Castro Peralta. Clinica Abreu was ordered to pay a RD$3 million fine in this case. The case is up for an appeal.
The society says that the physician acted with prudence and diligence in the case, and followed internationally recognized standards for the operation he carried out on Castro Peralta. They rejected the legitimacy and accuracy of the pathology report presented to the judge. They also question the fact that in the course of the trial, Judge Yuli Tamariz discarded proof and testimony that demonstrated that Duarte Garrido, a physician at the Clinica Abreu and former president of the Dominican Society of Radiology, had acted correctly.
This is a rare case in which a malpractice suit has advanced in Dominican courts.