French doctor on trial for ‘poisoning’ 30 patients

A ‘star’ doctor from eastern France is standing trial for poisoning at least 30 patients, 12 of whom died immediately or soon after going under for operations.

Frédéric Péchier, 53, an anaesthetist working at two clinics in Besançon (Doubs) is accused of poisoning the patients as they were anaesthetised, often for routine operations. 

Patients ranging from the ages of 4 to 89 suffered issues including heart attacks either during or after operations, with prosecutors considering Mr Péchier’s presence across two clinics a common denominator in the incidents.

The trial begins today (Monday September 8) and is set to last at least three and a half months.

Patients suffered heart attacks after being anaesthetised

A number of ‘serious adverse events’ in quick succession led to suspicion of anaesthetists at hospitals in Besançon over medical malpractice.

Following an incident in January 2017 where a 36-year old woman with no prior health conditions suffered a heart attack after going under for an operation on her back, an IV bag used for the procedure was taken for examination and shown to contain extreme levels of potassium.

A 70-year old patient undergoing an operation for prostate cancer faced a similar situation at the end of the month. 

He suffered a heart attack as hospital investigators were inside the building reviewing complaints against the unit.

The patient was resuscitated using an antidote to mepivacaine, the anaesthetic found in the patient’s IV bag and blood stream. 

Suspicion over doctor’s presence 

In total there are 30 charges of poisoning levelled against Mr Péchier, state French media Franceinfo.

Various claims about his motives for poisoning patients have been put forward by prosecutors, saying it is possible Mr Péchier would poison patients in order to then save them, showing his prowess and skills. 

A lawyer representing patients and family members said that Mr Péchier would later introduce himself as ‘the man who saved their life’ following incidents, ‘acting like Zorro’ after saving them.

Mr Péchier was reportedly always either in the room where an incident took place, or sufficiently close enough to intervene. 

In some cases, he reportedly entered the operating room even before any alarm went off in order to resuscitate them. 

Lawyers defend doctor

However lawyers defending Mr Péchier claim the evidence is not strong enough to find him guilty. 

They claim that a lack of consensus over whether cases constituted a ‘poisoning’ or a ‘medical error’ are unconvincing, and that too much focus is being given to their client’s personality. 

Randall Schwerdorffer, a lawyer for Mr Péchier, says that several personality assessments used as evidence fail to identify Mr Péchier as narcissistic or suffering from certain other personality disorders.

He also said that Mr Péchier has tried to commit suicide at least twice, latterly in 2021 as a direct result of the investigation.

Mr Péchier has not been remanded in custody in the eight years he has been under investigation.