A man accused of fatally punching a surgeon outside a Melbourne hospital is due to learn his fate, with jurors retiring to decide their verdict.
Patrick Pritzwald-Stegmann suffered head injuries after he was allegedly struck by 24-year-old Joseph Esmaili at Box Hill Hospital in May 2017.
The 41-year-old doctor's life support was turned off four weeks later.
Esmaili pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and has faced a four-week trial in the Supreme Court.
The pair had a confrontation in the foyer of the hospital on the night Mr Pritzwald-Stegmann was struck, allegedly after the doctor asked Esmaili and a group of his friends not to smoke in a non-smoking area outside, the court was told.
Esmaili's friend Corey Rogers said one of the group told the doctor to "f*** off" and Mr Pritzwald-Stegmann went inside to get security, following Esmaili.
It was alleged the doctor "chest-bumped" Esmaili, who retaliated by punching Mr Pritzwald-Stegmann, causing him to fall backwards and hit his head.
"Oh f***. He made me do it," Mr Rogers said Esmaili yelled out, before leaving the hospital and running with his group toward Box Hill.
Hospital receptionist and nurse Megan Brodersen said she'd heard Mr Pritzwald-Stegmann tell Esmaili "you can't talk to me like that" and repeatedly asking "did you just spit on me" before hearing a bang and rushing over to find the doctor unconscious.
"He was very stiff, kind of convulsing. I put him in the recovery position and that's when the blood came out of his nose and mouth," she said.
Defence barrister John Desmond argued the doctor had been aggressive towards Esmaili and followed him several times in the hospital.
"My client is retreating," Mr Desmond said referring to CCTV footage.
"It's the doctor who continues to pursue. He puts down his bag. He's up for it."
Australian Associated Press
