Prosecutors have accused the medical team of pushing for Maradona to receive home care, which proved “reckless” and “totally deficient”.
They allege the footballer was abandoned to his fate for a “prolonged, agonising period” before his death.
A panel of 20 medical experts convened by Argentina’s public prosecutor concluded in 2021 that Maradona “would have had a better chance of survival” with adequate treatment in an appropriate medical facility.
The residence where he was staying notably had no defibrillator.
Maradona’s family claim that leaked audio and text messages show the star’s health was in imminent danger, said Mario Baudry, a lawyer for Maradona’s son Dieguito.
He said the messages showed the medical team’s strategy was to try and ensure that Diego’s daughters did not intervene “because if they did, they (the medical staff) would lose their money”.
“JUSTICE FOR DIEGO”
The accused all deny responsibility for the star’s death.
Vadim Mischanchuk, lawyer for psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, said he was “very optimistic” of an acquittal, arguing his client was in charge of Maradona’s mental, not physical health.
In the La Paternal neighborhood of Buenos Aires where the player nicknamed “El Pibe de Oro” (The Golden Boy) revealed his prodigious talent as a player for Argentinos Juniors in the 1970s, graffiti urging “Justice for Diego!” was daubed on walls ahead of the trial.
“All society needs to know … what really happened, who abandoned him … and whoever is responsible must pay the price,” pensioner Hilda Pereira told AFP on Monday.
Maradona “did not deserve to die as he died, alone”, she added, her voice quavering.
