Before the district court of Aurich, a criminal case against a physician began, who is said to have used defective disc prostheses. In the procedure, the man has to answer for the allegation of corruption, because he prefers to use spine implants of a particular manufacturer - and have collected unauthorized money for it.
The defendant rejected the allegations. The clinic management had known about his sideline activities, let the 55-year-old informed about his lawyer. In the case against the dismissed head of spine surgery at the Klinikum Leer, a total of 74 cases involve the acceptance of an advantage and corruption in a particularly severe case. In this context, the former CEO of a distribution company is also charged. Her defender demanded the termination of the procedure for formal reasons shortly after the trial began.
Another case of assault in dozens of cases is pending
The Central Office for Corruption Criminal Matters at the public prosecutor's office Osnabrück has connected two charges in the proceedings. According to this, the specialist in neurosurgery and a company for medical devices have developed an implant for spine surgery. The doctor used patients' implants during operations at the Leer Clinic. For this he was involved in percentage of sales and cashed more than 14,000 euros.
In addition, the physician should have received from a further distribution company a continuous remuneration, so he prefers implants of a particular manufacturer. The indictment mentions more than 128,000 euros in the years 2011 to 2016. The two defendants denied the allegations about their defenders. The doctor is convinced of the success of his implant product and have understood payments as part of his invention, said his lawyer.
Another lawsuit against the doctor for bodily injury in 59 cases is still pending. Because many implants used had proven to be defective and were later slipped or crumbled in the patient's body.
Many patients suffered as a result, they had to undergo surgery again. Some of them watched the process kick-off in Aurich. The procedure for assault was supposed to start at the district court of Leer in late 2018, but was postponed after a motion of bias against the judge. This process is expected to begin in 2020.
The irregularities at the Klinikum Leer had come to light after the recall of defective implants from a British manufacturer. The hospital management had then checked the official mails of the doctor and had come across commission bills. The clinic then turned on the police.
