Europe 1 with AFP 6:38 am, December 2, 2021
A surgeon was fined Wednesday in Austria for having amputated the bad leg of a patient, said Wednesday the regional court of Linz (north).
She had marked the wrong leg of the 82-year-old patient before the operation last May and only realized her mistake two days after.
A surgeon was fined Wednesday in Austria for having amputated the bad leg of a patient, said Wednesday the regional court of Linz (north).
Seized by the prosecution, the judge found guilty of "injury by serious negligence" the defendant of 43 years, who pleaded "human error", said a spokeswoman for the instance.
She had marked the wrong leg of the 82-year-old patient before the operation last May in Freistadt and only realized her mistake two days later.
5,000 euros in damages to the patient's widow
The court imposed a fine of 2,700 euros, half of which suspended without specifying how it was calculated.
He also awarded 5,000 euros in damages to the widow of the patient, who died in the meantime, who had become a civil party.
The surgeon denounced a flaw in the chain of control in the operating theater.
She has since changed clinics and can still appeal the judgment.
The management of the establishment said in a statement that "the causes and circumstances of this medical error had been analyzed with precision."
Internal procedures were discussed with the team and training was followed.