Lawsuit Ex-patient of Bern surgeon to receive satisfaction
A former patient of a Bernese surgeon is to receive financial compensation. This is what his lawyer demanded before the Bern-Mittelland Regional Court on Monday.
26.01.2026, 08:40
26.01.2026, 16:40
SDA
Specifically, the lawyer demanded the sum of CHF 6,000 for his client, who appeared as a private plaintiff in the trial. The accused surgeon had implanted a back prosthesis in the man in 2011, which later failed but is still in his body. "My client has to live with a time bomb that may or may not explode one day."
Like the public prosecutor in the morning, the victim's lawyer also accused the accused doctor of providing his patients with inadequate information. For example, he had given them the choice between a fusion and the new Cadisc-L prosthesis. He did not inform them about other products. The statements of all seven patients concerned were consistent. "There is a system. That can't be a coincidence."
No unpleasant questions
Furthermore, the accused did not tell his patients about the failed preclinical studies and discouraged them from seeking second opinions. He also said nothing about his financial interests. "He wanted to avoid patients asking awkward questions and perhaps even dropping out in the end."
After the operation, the doctor lost interest in his patients relatively quickly. "He could have saved them from a lot of pain and damage." The fact that he did not call her up after the recall of the prosthesis in 2014 is evidence of the arrogance of an otherwise brilliant doctor who had lost his way. "He had lost his moral compass."
The lawyer compared the insertion of the Cadisc prostheses to going to the casino: "You can just hope that it works." The surgeon, however, with his insider knowledge, should have recognized the dangerous nature of his actions. "Who, if not him? He was an expert in his field."
The victim's lawyer found it disturbing that the public prosecutor's office had previously called for the sentence to be reduced by a third due to the extensive media coverage. "Without the implant files and investigative journalism, the public would never have found out about the scandal."
Public prosecutor's office for conditional sentence
This morning, the public prosecutor's office had demanded a conditional prison sentence of two years for grievous bodily harm. The surgeon had known about the malfunctioning of the spinal prosthesis.
