Law & Justice
Diego Maradona test mix-up admitted by health firm
Swiss Medical has admitted that medical tests presented in the trial over Diego Maradona's death were actually those of his father, the latest setback in proceedings against seven healthcare professionals accused over the Argentine football great's care.
In a letter seen by AFP on Monday, the health insurance company said the tests had remained mistakenly filed under Diego Armando Maradona's name but belonged to Diego Salustiano Maradona, who died in 2015.
The error was identified last week by a lawyer defending one of the seven healthcare workers on trial over Maradona's death in November 2020 at age 60. The mix-up led to a one-week suspension of the proceedings.
Maradona died of heart failure and acute pulmonary edema at a rented home in Tigre, near Buenos Aires, two weeks after surgery for a brain clot. His medical team is accused of providing grossly inadequate care before his death and denies the charges.
Kidney health has been a key issue in the final stages of the trial. A nephrologist had testified that Maradona's doctors should have paid more attention to the issue, but his analysis was based on the wrong test results.
The current trial began in April and is scheduled to resume on Thursday. It is expected to continue until at least September. A previous trial collapsed last year after a conflict of interest involving one of the judges.
Update
Swiss Medical admitted that tests released to a medical commission investigating Diego Maradona's death belonged to his father, Diego Salustiano Maradona.
The company said the tests had remained mistakenly filed under Diego Armando Maradona's name.
The trial is set to resume on Thursday and is expected to continue until at least September.
Source note: AFP news report published on 24 August 2026 at 22:28:14 UTC.
Update
Prosecutor Patricio Ferrari said the alleged test mix-up did not jeopardize the prosecution case.
A lawyer for accused nurse Nancy Forlini denied any plan to seek a mistrial.
The source says confirmation that the tests were Maradona's father's could discredit the medical commission that assessed the circumstances of Maradona's death.
The trial had been drawing near a close before the latest controversy.
The first trial was annulled last year after revelations that one judge took part in a clandestine documentary about the case, and the new trial began in April.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 20:18:34 UTC.
Update
The court adjourned the case until August 27 for a review of the medical evidence.
The defence claimed the kidney tests presented at trial belonged to Maradona's father, also called Diego, who died in 2015.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 19:40:25 UTC.
Update
A court put the Maradona trial on hold amid a suspected father-son kidney mix-up.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 19:27:50 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The supplied information does not state how the mix-up affected each piece of evidence beyond the nephrologist's kidney analysis.
Source
AFP news report published on .