Trial Brugg District Court: Both defense lawyers demand acquittals
On the third day of the hearing on responsibility for the death of a patient at the Königsfelden AG clinic at Brugg District Court, the representatives of the victim's family and the accused had their say on Wednesday. Both defense lawyers demanded acquittals.
28.01.2026, 11:36
28.01.2026, 17:07
SDA
The proceedings revolve around a tragic incident at the Psychiatric Services Aargau (PDAG) clinic at the end of 2020. In December 2020, an 18-year-old autistic patient, who also had other serious disorders, repeatedly and increasingly often let himself fall backwards onto the floor.
Efforts to stop him were unsuccessful. What initially led to bruises and bumps became visibly worse. On December 30, he suffered such severe head injuries that he died.
Two doctors accused
A senior physician at the time is accused of intentional homicide by omission, and a senior physician at the time is accused of negligent homicide by omission. The charge relates to the days from December 28 to 30. Prior to this, both doctors were absent on vacation. They were replaced on the ward by colleagues.
The public prosecutor is demanding a prison sentence of six years and a five-year ban from the country for the doctor. She is demanding a conditional two-year prison sentence and a fine for her superior.
"Human rights violated"
On November 30, 2020, the patient was placed in an isolation room where he was supposed to rest. He was still there at the end of December. However, the isolation, which is internationally regarded as a high-risk measure, lasted far too long, as the legal representative of the young man's family said on Wednesday.
In his plea, he accused the defendants of violating the human rights to life and to protection from cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment. They simply could not cope with the young man who was "a bit different".
"Falling into the hands of the wrong people"
"Massive treatment errors" had led to the young man's death. The lawyer called for the accused to be punished, as requested by the prosecution.
The father of the deceased also addressed the court. He criticized the fact that his son's autism had been ignored. This death was not fate and not suicide. Their son had simply had the misfortune of falling into the hands of the wrong people.
Doctor's defense lawyer demands acquittal
The defense lawyer of the doctor in charge at the time demanded an acquittal and compensation for his client for the particularly long duration of the proceedings. In retrospect, an event is always judged differently than at the time.
The doctor had ordered sedation of the patient and 1:1 care on December 29. The sedation worked - the patient calmed down. On the afternoon of December 29 and the morning of December 30, the doctor made sure that the patient was well and asleep. The 1:1 care had to wait due to staff shortages.
Later in the morning of December 30th until the end of his shift at noon, the doctor was assigned to another department. The senior physician directly responsible for the patient asked him in an email whether he could come by to discuss a strategy for the coming days.
As this message was not alarming for the doctor, he referred to the following day. He could not be accused of this, said the defense lawyer. He could not be accused of any misconduct.
Duty of care fulfilled
Both of the senior physician's defense lawyers presented detailed legal and theoretical evidence that their client had not acted with intent, as the prosecution accuses her of. She could not have known - and therefore accepted - that the patient would suffer a fatal injury on December 30.
Negligence was not charged, said the defense. In any case, there was no negligence. The defendant had fulfilled her guarantor duty towards the patient and had not breached her duty of care.
The verdict is scheduled to be delivered on Friday afternoon.
