An Austrian surgeon was fined €2,700(R49 000) on Wednesday, December 1 for amputating the wrong leg of an elderly patient earlier this year. According to reports the surgery took place in May where the 43-year-old surgeon removed the patient’s right leg instead of his left.
However, medical personnel at the clinic in Freistadt only picked up on the ‘human error’ two days later when the patient’s bandages needed to be changed.at the time of the incident, the clinic indicated that they have offered the patient psychological support.
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BBC News reports that the surgeon was then was moved to another clinic until the hearing. The surgeon explained to the court in Linz on Wednesday that she wasn’t sure whether she marked the right leg as there was no leadership in the operating theatre. She was then fined and found guilty of gross negligence.
BBC mentioned further that the patient died before the case was brought before a court, however, his widow also received €5,000(R90 000) in damages. In 1995, a doctor at a hospital in the United States of America also amputated the wrong leg of a diabetic patient but was forced to continue after he had already cut through the muscles, tendons and ligaments.
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