Doctor claims Maradona’s death could have been avoided, says at trial

During Thursday’s trial, a doctor who had treated Diego Maradona testified that a simple diuretic could have improved the former football star’s condition within 48 hours.

“In about 48 hours, his condition would have clearly improved,” said Dr. Mario Schiter, who treated Maradona in the early 2000s and attended his autopsy in 2020, when asked what could have prevented the footballer’s demise in his final days.

“Every day I see patients like this in intensive care, who come in with congestive heart failure. We give them diuretics to reduce their volume and, after 12 hours, they’re already back home,” the intensive‑care specialist added.

Seven healthcare professionals are on trial in San Isidro for potential negligence in Maradona’s death and could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. The proceedings are expected to run through July.

Schiter’s testimony follows several experts who have reported that Maradona—who led Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986—had excess fluid in several organs when he died.

“He had water everywhere,” said Carlos Casinelli, another doctor who participated in the autopsy. He noted that the liters of fluid could not have accumulated “in less than a week or ten days,” suggesting that the medical team should have noticed the swelling.

In 2020, Schiter had advised against home hospitalization after Maradona underwent surgery, but the champion footballer chose to recover in a rented house north of Buenos Aires, where he died of pulmonary edema and cardiorespiratory arrest at the age of 60.

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