Overview

• The case centers on incidents at two Besançon clinics from 2008 to 2017 involving 30 suspected poisonings and 12 deaths among patients aged 4 to 89.
• Prosecutors allege Frédéric Péchier contaminated colleagues’ paracetamol bags or anesthesia pouches to create emergencies that enhanced his standing and undermined coworkers.
• Péchier denies the charges, attributes many events to colleagues’ medical errors, remains under judicial supervision, and has not practiced since 2017 despite limited work authorization without patient contact in 2023.
• The Doubs Assize Court will hear evidence through December with more than 150 civil parties, beginning with the most recent incidents that prompted the 2017 investigation.
• Investigators reviewed over 70 serious adverse events and retained 30 for trial, citing findings such as a 2008 lidocaine overdose; the defendant faces life imprisonment if convicted.