depending on the time taken to transfer her to a specialized care center. According to the
doctors, the alleged victim had a latent risk of dying from her disease because she was
incarcerated and because of the complications she suffered, since the COF did not have the
capacity to deal with a crisis of that magnitude (supra para. 196). In relation to her specific
illnesses, her arterial hypertension had already been diagnosed as “decompensated” and the
COF “only [had] captopril”, [sic] which was provided to her “when [it was] in stock.” Moreover,
the COF did not have capacity to regularly provide insulin for intramuscular injection, which
was the type of insulin required for her diabetes problem. Considering her health condition
and her ailments, the State had the obligation to establish a protocol for urgent and priority
medical care, with the required security arrangements, to guarantee her rights to life and
personal integrity in the event of an emergency.
222.
Following her accident, Mrs. Chinchilla was treated by the COF’s duty nurse, and
not by the doctor, who administered an analgesic and medication for hypertension and
informed the Medical Services Coordinator of the Prison Service about the incident and the
treatment given. However, she did not perform a glucose test, which was essential to
determine if this was an emergency situation (as advised by the doctors) and to authorize her
eventual transfer from prison to receive hospital treatment. Thus, after a superficial checkup
by the nurse, Mrs. Chinchilla did not receive any follow-up care or any other type of medical
attention. It was not until nearly an hour later that the nurse was again informed that she
could not breathe and who noticed, upon examining her, that she no longer had vital signs,
and reported that the fire brigade unsuccessfully tried to resuscitate her.326 In other words,
the process of Mrs. Chinchilla’s death occurred without any form of attention or supervision
by medical staff. In a brief of January 8, 2007, forwarded to the Commission, the State
indicated that, “according to the report of the Prison System, there is no record of the reasons
why Mrs. María Isabel Chinchilla Sandoval was not transferred to a hospital.”
223.
In conclusion, given the situation of risk in which she found herself, of which the
doctors who examined her on different occasions had clearly warned, it is possible to consider
that the State did not diligently guarantee Mrs. Chinchilla appropriate emergency medical
assistance on the day of her death, neither within the COF nor at a hospital. Considering her
health condition and the ailments she suffered, the time elapsed from the moment of the
accident and the type of care received, it may be concluded that the State did not ensure her
right to life in that circumstance.
B.5
Conclusion
224.
The Court considers that the State failed to fulfill its obligation to guarantee the
alleged victim´s right to personal integrity and to life, since no record or file was kept on her
health condition and the treatments provided upon her admission to the COF. Furthermore, it
was not demonstrated that the State provided her with adequate food and medications on a
regular basis. Then, faced with the progressive decline of her health and the latent risk to her
life and personal integrity mentioned by the doctors, and given her serious, chronic and
ultimately fatal disease and her disability, there is no record that the authorities ensured
regular, adequate and systematic medical supervision of the treatment of her illnesses and
her disability to prevent her deterioration. If the State could not guarantee such care and
The State argued that the situation was considered as an emergency and therefore the prison staff called
the fire brigade, who arrived as soon as possible, to give her first aid and subsequently transfer her to a public
hospital; that in Guatemala, firefighters attend as paramedics to perform first aid, provide assistance and transfer
patients to the hospital emergency room; and that when the firefighters reached the COF, they found the inmate
without vital signs and immediately proceeded to perform resuscitation efforts, which were unsuccessful.
326
70