News
11 November 2024in RTP
Carlos Melo Alves comments on possible lawsuits to hold the state responsible for deaths linked to INEM delays
Legal experts interviewed by RTP have revealed that the victims' families may be able to claim compensation, but it must be proven that the deaths were due to delays in the rescue service. At the end of the day, elements of INEM's board of directors and the Minister of Health could also be involved.
According to Carlos Melo Alves, ‘in the abstract, this is undoubtedly a question of compensation from the state, in other words, the state's fault for not rescuing the victims in time.’
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‘If care had been provided, as the state was obliged to do, within a certain period of time, that person would not have died. This is confirmed by the autopsy and any doctor is qualified to provide this information to a court.’
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‘Criminal liability is a little more complicated. What may be at stake here are offences of negligent homicide. Criminal liability can even be imputed not just to one person, but to several people, from the person who had the obligation to initiate a certain procedure and failed to do so. There could be several criminal liabilities underway here from the command point of view.’