Overview
- On the trial’s fifth day, the court reviewed how Frédéric Péchier administered calcium gluconate during the January 11, 2017 cardiac arrest of patient Sandra Simard.
- An expert for the prosecution said giving calcium without knowing potassium levels was unjustified and argued it suggested Péchier knew the cause, framing the act as either incompetence or awareness.
- Anesthesiologist Romain Jouffroy testified that such use can be a defensible emergency choice in some hospitals even if it is not standard protocol.
- Prosecutors also pointed to unusually high potassium consumption attributed to Péchier in 2016, a period overlapping several alleged poisonings.
- Earlier testimony described the ARS quickly suspecting Péchier after two 2017 arrests, while a nurse said police partly steered that inquiry; Péchier maintains his innocence and is due for his formal hearing on September 22, with a verdict expected December 19.