Austrian court fines surgeon who amputated elderly patient's wrong leg

An Austrian court fined a surgeon after the wrong leg amputation of an elderly patient last May. What's the story?

An Austrian court has fined a surgeon who amputated the wrong leg of an elderly patient.

The 43-year-old said that what happened was due to "human error", but the judge found her guilty of gross negligence and decided to fine her 2,700 euros, with half the amount suspended, according to Wednesday, a spokesman for the court in the northern city of Linz.

The surgeon had placed the amputation mark on the wrong leg of an 82-year-old patient before the operation, which was conducted last May, and she did not notice the error until two days after the operation.

The court decided to compensate the widow of a patient who died before the case reached court, in the amount of 5,000 euros in addition to interest.The surgeon, who moved to another clinic, said that an error occurred in the course of work at the time.

In a statement, the administration of the concerned institution confirmed that "the reasons and circumstances of this medical error were analyzed in detail," and that the internal procedures were reviewed and discussed with the work teams.