The Court of Appeal rejected all appeals in the case of 10-year-old Stavros Giorgalli’s death and fully upheld the first-instance ruling of the Larnaca District Court.
The decision confirms the conviction of doctor Iraklis Pantelidakis and maintains the acquittal of doctor Kyriakos Kyriakidis.
Judges found that the misreading of the X-ray, which failed to identify a skull fracture, was a substantial factor in the chain of events that led to the child’s death.
The court also clarified that criminal liability does not require the defendant’s act to be the sole cause of death; it is sufficient that it was a substantial cause.
Regarding sentencing, the appellate court identified an error of principle in suspending the prison term but kept the suspension in place due to the significant passage of time since the events.
