They had mistaken meningitis for a headache. A wrong diagnosis, which cost the life of Valeria Fioravanti, the 27-year-old who died from meningitis in January 2023 after being visited in various hospitals and healthcare facilities in Rome. More than a year after her death, the judge for the preliminary hearing sent three doctors accused of manslaughter for the young woman’s death to trial. The trial has been set for September 16, 2025 before the single-judge court.
The wrong diagnosis in 4 different hospitals
In December 2022, the young woman went to a hospital because she was experiencing discomfort after the removal of an abscess. According to the reconstruction, everything began on December 25 when the 27-year-old was operated on in a well-known Roman hospital. Two days after being discharged, the girl went to the emergency room of another hospital, complaining of a severe headache, back pain and neck pain. She was diagnosed with a severe headache and was therefore discharged with a prescription for anti-inflammatories. The pain then got worse.
Another visit to the same hospital, another misdiagnosis. At the third hospital visited the answer was: protrusion of the spinal column and treatment with a collar for a week. However, according to the story of her family, Valeria continued to get worse. On the fourth attempt, the doctors realized it was bacterial meningitis. The 27-year-old was then subjected to a bone marrow test, which would have confirmed the suspicion, but by then it was too late: the girl fell into a coma and, despite an operation, she died on January 10, 2023.
The beginning of the process
Today the judge sent three doctors to trial, one from the Casilino Polyclinic and two from the San Giovanni hospital, accused of manslaughter: in particular, the prosecutor’s office disputes, in various capacities, having underestimated the clinical picture and not having carried out a neurological evaluation thorough. The hearing has been set for September 16, 2025 before the single judge.
”We are satisfied, we miss Valeria like air, we are confident in the course of the law, the magistrates are working with great care without leaving anything out – commented the parents of the 27 year old – The mistake that was made by the doctors is evident , Valeria was not placed under observation. They didn’t try to treat her, they gave her a painkiller, there are no words… a girl who goes to the emergency room four times, always in worse conditions, each time they changed her treatment, in 15 days they managed to kill her”.
