Not measured

83-year-old killed with insulin: Carer sentenced

A carer did not carry out blood glucose measurements on a pensioner with diabetes (symbolic image).

(Bild: thodonal/stock.adobe.com)

Without measuring his patient's blood sugar level, a 24-hour nurse administered insulin to the 83-year-old - the maximum dose. She died of severe hypoglycemia as a result. The Serbian is now serving a non-conviction prison sentence.

A Serbian man had been working as a 24-hour helper for a couple in Lower Austria for just three days. On the morning of February 15, he alerted the daughter. "I found my mother in bed. She was no longer really responsive. There was just a rattling that I'd never heard before," she recalled in the Krems Regional Court (Lower Austria). Even the emergency services could do nothing more for the 83-year-old - she died of severe hypoglycemia.

Maximum dose of insulin injected three times
The elderly pensioner and her husband - who has also died in the meantime - suffered from diabetes. Before his death, he was able to testify to the police: "The nurse was completely confused and didn't know what he was doing. He always wanted to inject insulin without measuring." And he seems to have done the same to the victim. According to the expert report, he injected the woman with the maximum dose of insulin three times the day before - which led to her death.

The 64-year-old Serb - who attended a nursing course in his home country - does not want to face trial for gross negligence manslaughter. Shortly after the pensioner's death, however, he told the police: "I have been administering insulin to patients for two years." He was not aware of any guilt.

A sentence was passed in his absence: 15 months part-time, five months in prison. However, Mr. Rat notes: "We now have to see if we can find him at all." Not legally binding.