A Discovery That Threatens the Trial
The second trial over the death of Diego Armando Maradona has taken a dramatic turn. On August 19, 2026, during the testimony of one of the experts from the Medical Board, it was revealed that a laboratory study used to assess Maradona's health did not belong to him, but to his father, Don Diego Maradona, who passed away in 2015.
The finding was made by lawyer Nicolás D'Albora, who represents Nancy Forlini, the Swiss Medical prepaid coordinator charged in the case. D'Albora noticed that nephrologist Hernán Trimarchi was relying on lab tests from between 2012 and 2015, many of which corresponded to the period when Diego was in Dubai, while his father had been hospitalized at a Swiss Medical sanatorium in May 2015.
The Error: A Different Member Number
According to judicial sources cited by Infobae, the disputed document bears the name of Diego Armando Maradona but shows a different member number than the one the former footballer had, which would match his father's. Additionally, the date of the study (June 2015) coincides with Don Diego's hospitalization, who died a few days later, while Diego was abroad at the time.
Leopoldo Luque's lawyer, Francisco Oneto, called the incident “scandalous” and demanded new evidence: a request to Swiss Medical to verify the membership numbers of both patients and a report from Migrations to confirm that Diego was not in Argentina on that date. “It is scandalous that a group of people, self-proclaimed experts, did not do something as basic as verifying that the studies belong to the person they claimed to be studying,” Oneto told TN.
Could the Medical Board Be Nullified?
The Medical Board is the most important expert report for the prosecution, as it concluded that Maradona's death could have been prevented if the defendants had acted correctly. The error in the studies could invalidate that report. Sources close to the case told El Destape that the nullification of the entire board is being considered, since the report is affected, although some conclusions might not depend on that specific study.
Lawyer Diego Olmedo, who represents psychologist Carlos Díaz, agreed that the episode “discredits the Medical Board” and leaves it “seriously wounded.” However, he clarified that he does not believe the trial will collapse, but rather that “nobody will be able to use the medical board as a revealing element against the defendants.”
Defense Demands Explanations
Lawyer Mario Baudry, representing Verónica Ojeda and Dieguito Fernando, tried to downplay the impact: “One page won't nullify an entire procedure that was done.” Nevertheless, he admitted it is a “scandal” and that if it were proven that someone deliberately incorporated incorrect documentation, there could be criminal liability. “After six years, I don't think it's negligence, but something intentional,” he stated.
The prosecution, led by Patricio Ferrari and Cosme Iribarren, argues that the error does not affect their case theory because only a few lab tests were mixed up, all of them routine. But the defense teams are not ruling out requesting the nullification of the entire process.
A Trial with a Troubled History
This is the second trial over Maradona's death. The first was annulled in 2025 when it was discovered that former judge Julieta Makintach was secretly filming a documentary during the hearings. Now, four months into the new trial, the process is again on shaky ground.
The San Isidro court must decide whether to accept the new evidence requests made by Luque's defense. On Thursday, two more medical board experts are scheduled to testify, and they are expected to explain how the confusion occurred.
The case involves seven health workers charged with homicide with eventual intent: Leopoldo Luque (neurosurgeon), Nancy Forlini (Swiss Medical coordinator), psychologist Carlos Díaz, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, general practitioner Pedro Di Spagna, nurse Ricardo Almiron, and nurse Dahiana Madrid.
The error in the medical board's studies raises serious questions about the rigor with which evidence has been handled in a case that has already been ongoing for more than six years, seeking to determine what happened to Diego on that November 25, 2020.