Overview
- Anesthetist Anne‑Sophie Balon testified that during Sandra Simard’s January 2017 cardiac arrest, Frédéric Péchier entered early and administered calcium gluconate without consulting her, after which she had the perfusion bags seized and tests found potassium about 100 times normal.
- The court revisited the Jean‑Claude Gandon case, where investigators say mepivacaine was injected into a paracetamol bag; a trainee nurse recalled being sent for a break before returning to find the patient in arrest, and she broke down describing the episode.
- Balon told the court staff had internally identified Péchier as a possible author of the poisoning, while the defense argued it is common to assist during emergencies and said he had announced the calcium gluconate.
- Testimony highlighted weak medication security at the time, including an unlocked cabinet and previously free access to perfusion bags, and the clinic’s then‑director said later safeguards were added but such acts would still be hard to detect.
- Péchier denies all charges, remains free during the trial, and now has a single lead attorney after Lee Takhedmit withdrew, with a verdict scheduled for December 19 and a potential life sentence at stake.