Doctor Fined Over $3k For Amputating The Wrong Leg
Doctors operating on the wrong body part; it’s a fear common to people in the hospital for surgery, and it happened in Austria in May. A 43-year-old surgeon amputated the right leg of an 82-year-old patient instead of his left leg. The mistake wasn’t found until two days after the surgery, and the patient was then told he would have to have his other leg amputated as well.
A court found the surgeon guilty of gross negligence and issued a $3,049 fine for the mistake, along with awarding the widow of the patient $5,660 in damages. The punishment wasn’t even as strong as it sounds, because the surgeon was simply moved to a new hospital and had half of the fine suspended.
Source: New York Post