The surgeon had marked the wrong leg of an 82-year-old patient before operating on him last May and realized her mistake two days later.
A surgeon was sentenced on Wednesday in Austria for having amputated the wrong leg of a patient, the Linz regional court (north) told AFP.
Accused by the Prosecutor’s Office, the magistrate declared the 43-year-old defendant guilty of “injury due to gross negligence”, who for her part claimed the figure of “human error,” said a spokeswoman for the judicial instance.
She had marked the wrong leg of an 82-year-old patient before operating on him last May in Freistadt and only realized her mistake two days later.
The court imposed a fine of 2,700 euros (just over 3,000 euros), half of which was suspended, without specifying how it was calculated. It also agreed to 5,000 euros for damages for the patient’s widow, who died in the meantime, who became a civil party.
For her part, the surgeon reported a failure in the operating room control chain. Later, he changed clinics and can still appeal the sentence.
The hospital management stated in a statement that “the causes and circumstances of this medical error were precisely analyzed.”
Internal procedures were discussed with the operating block team, who received further training. (I)
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