The administrative court announced the temporary suspension would remain in place after Dr Wilmes’ legal team submitted a request to cancel it.
The judges noted that not all the conditions required to overturn the suspension had been met. As such, Dr Wilmes will be prohibited from carrying out any operations until 22 April. Experts will now analyse the reports submitted against the surgeron and decide if the grievances can be upheld as medical misconduct.
Dr Wilmes’ legal team released a statement saying they “regret” and will take note of the decision. They added that if the complaints against their client turn out to be unfounded, they will seek legal action against those responsible.
Lawyer François Prum said a referee is bound by numerous, cumulative, conditions. For example, the administrative court said the damage was not “definitive or irreparable” for several reasons, as the surgeon was able to continue practising in that he could hold consultations. “He is just not allowed to operate.” As for the damage to the doctor’s reputation, it was decided that this was not caused directly by the health minister’s decision to suspend Dr Wilmes, but through “indirect damage”, as Mr Prum said, “through how the decision was received by the general public”. The lawyer emphasised that he was unhappy with this point as both are closely linked in the eyes of the defence.
“This is just an interim measure,” he continued, “where we tried to get the decision suspended.” The team are not ready to give up. “We are working with the Ministry to find experts who can prove Dr Wilmes’ innocence, that he did not operate without reason.” The doctor’s legal team refute the accusations that he operated on healthy knees and left patients “mutilated”. The experts should therefore focus on how to determine whether the doctor operated on “healthy or damaged knees.”
If Dr Wilmes is found to have been unjustly accused, his lawyer will file an appeal with the administrative court “to prove we were right and that the decision was incorrect”. Then they will investigate where the claims originated in the first place. If Dr Wilmes is proven innocent, “which we believe, then we will have to fight back. We will go after the people who caused this situation.”
