Nuovo Ospedale delle Apuane ordered to pay €2 million for patient’s death

The Court of Massa held the Nuovo Ospedale delle Apuane liable for the death of a woman from Carrara who was placed under compulsory psychiatric treatment (Tso) in January 2018. After sedative medication was administered, she lost consciousness, fell and suffered a severe head injury. She was transferred to Santa Chiara Hospital in Pisa, entered a coma, later moved to a neuro‑trauma ward in Cisanello and eventually to a private facility in Viareggio, where she remained in a vegetative state until her death in June 2019. Expert testimony concluded that the hospital’s clinical management deviated from accepted standards, notably the failure to monitor the patient after drug administration. The civil judgment, signed by judge Michele Fornaciari, awarded the victim’s parents and sister more than €2 million in compensation.

The ruling underscores systemic failures in the handling of involuntary psychiatric interventions and reinforces the duty of Italian health institutions to adhere to proper monitoring protocols during compulsory treatment.