kronberg im taunus · DE
ImputatoSommario
A four-year-old girl died on 18 September 2021 at a dental practice in Kronberg im Taunus, Hesse, after being anaesthetised for dental treatment. The anaesthetist had drawn propofol contaminated with fungi and bacteria from a single vial and administered it to an adult patient and then to four children over the course of the day, working without the required assistance and in serious breach of hygiene rules. The girl, the last patient of the day, died that night of multi-organ failure; the three other children fell severely ill, and when their parents telephoned the following day the doctor told them the symptoms were normal and that no ambulance was needed. In November 2024 the regional court convicted him of manslaughter by omission and three counts of attempted manslaughter by omission, sentencing him to ten years and six months' imprisonment. In January 2026 the Federal Court of Justice overturned central parts of that verdict, finding that the regional court had set the threshold for a murder conviction too high, and ordered a fresh examination of whether he had acted to conceal his own errors. The retrial opened before the Frankfurt regional court on 19 August 2026, with prosecutors alleging murder on the grounds that he deliberately delayed emergency care. A verdict is expected in early October 2026.