Swiss Medical, an Argentine health insurance company, admitted on August 24 that medical tests used in the trial over Diego Maradona's death belonged to his father, Diego Salustiano Maradona, and not to the former football star himself [1, 2, 3]. The mix-up was discovered last week by a defense lawyer for one of the seven healthcare professionals on trial [1, 4]. Swiss Medical said in a letter to the medical commission that the tests "remained mistakenly filed under the name Diego Armando Maradona" though they were actually from his late father, who died in 2015 [1].
Diego Maradona died in November 2020 at age 60 from heart failure and acute pulmonary edema, two weeks after brain surgery at his rented home in Tigre, a suburb of Buenos Aires [1, 5]. The trial accuses members of Maradona's medical team of grossly inadequate care leading to his death. The defendants deny the charges [1, 6].
Maradona's kidney health was a key issue late in the proceedings, and a nephrologist's testimony was based on the incorrect test results [7, 8]. Because of the error, the trial was suspended for a week starting August 24 [1, 2]. It is scheduled to resume on August 27 and continue at least until September [5].
A previous trial had collapsed last year due to conflicts of interest among judges [3]. The current proceedings began in April 2025 and involve seven healthcare professionals who treated Maradona in his final days [1, 6].
The discovery of the test mix-up represents a major procedural setback for the prosecution and defense alike. Authorities are reviewing how the error occurred and reassessing evidence based on the incorrect data [4]. The trial is expected to proceed with corrected medical records and updated testimony.
