Doctor fined for amputating wrong leg of patient

A Doctor in Austria has been fined after amputating the wrong leg of a patient.

The elderly patient’s right leg was removed instead of his left by a female surgeon, with the mistake only discovered two days later in a tragic event that happened in May 2021..

On Wednesday, December 1, the 43-year-old guilty of gross negligence and fined her €2,700 (£2,296).

The widow of the patient, who died before the case came to court, was also awarded €5,000 in damages by the court.

In court, the surgeon said there had been a flaw in the chain of command in the operating theatre.

When asked why she had marked the right leg and not the left, she said: “I just don’t know”.