Death of Alban Hoxha’s wife after giving birth to their son, Supreme Court upholds convictions of doctors Elona Burba and Petrit Rexhepi

The Supreme Court has rejected the appeal, leaving unchanged the sentences imposed on doctors Elona Burba and Petrit Rexhepi. They were found guilty of “negligent medical treatment” in the case of Dorjana Haka, the wife of former goalkeeper Alban Hoxha.

Elona Burba was sentenced to one year in prison, which was replaced with two years’ probation. She was also barred from practicing medicine for two years. Petrit Rexhepi was sentenced to six months in prison, a sentence that was converted into one year of probation.

Burba challenged the decision by filing an appeal with the Supreme Court. After a full review of the case, the court decided to reject the appeal after finding no violations.

According to the Supreme Court, the conclusions reached by the Court of Appeal were correct and based on a careful analysis conducted in accordance with the law.

The Supreme Court found that the Court of Appeal had correctly established that Dorjana Haka had received negligent medical treatment. The doctors had not performed the necessary tests before the surgical procedure through which the patient was to give birth to her first child.

According to the ruling, the deterioration of Dorjana Haka’s health could have been prevented if the medical staff, including the two defendants, had performed coagulation tests before the surgery.

The ruling noted that anesthesiologist Elona Burba and obstetric surgeon Petrit Rexhepi were preparing for a scheduled operation. For this reason, they had all the time necessary to ensure that Dorjana Haka underwent the tests and examinations required under the medical protocol then in force.

The Supreme Court described the failure to perform a coagulation test before surgery as inexcusable medical negligence.

The ruling also dismissed the defendants’ claims that the medical protocol had been followed. The court argued that the case could not be considered an objectively unavoidable complication according to medical science, as the protocol required a coagulation test specifically to prevent such a potential complication.

Dorjana Haka gave birth to her first child, a boy, on November 4, 2014. Three days later, her condition became complicated, and she was transferred from one hospital to another. Haka died on the 16th day of her stay at the Mother Teresa University Hospital Center.

The complaint alleging negligent medical treatment was filed by the deceased woman’s father. For years, Dorjana Haka’s family has pursued legal proceedings, seeking justice for her loss.