Although the operation was successful, the public prosecutor’s office is now investigating. According to the victim’s lawyer, the 13-year-old is said to have drilled into the patient’s skull.
The investigation is ongoing, but two doctors present at the operation have been dismissed (symbolic image).
Ute Grabowsky / Photothek.net / Imago
Did the 13-year-old daughter of a neurosurgeon drill open a patient’s skull during a skull operation in an Austrian hospital? That is at least the latest accusation made by the lawyer representing the patient. It is another twist in a case that has been making headlines in Austria for several weeks.
At the beginning of the year, a 33-year-old man had a serious accident while working in the forest. According to a report in the “Kleine Zeitung”, he was flown by helicopter to the State Hospital-University Clinic (LKH) in Graz, where he had to undergo emergency surgery on his head. The operation went without any problems, but the man is still unable to work to this day.
Anonymous tip triggered investigation
An investigation was then launched in May. The hospital management received an anonymous tip-off that the daughter of a surgeon was not only present during the operation, but also actively participated. In principle, only students and interns are allowed to be present at operations – apart from the medical staff. The patient only found out in July from the police that the procedure was being investigated and that he was a witness.
The public prosecutor’s office in Graz began investigations. The Graz Regional Hospital announced that the surgeon and another member of the surgical team had been temporarily suspended from duty. In July it was announced that a surgeon and another doctor had been dismissed. They were no longer trustworthy, they said.
According to the victim’s lawyer, the surgeon’s daughter not only helped, but also drilled the hole in the accident victim’s skull that was necessary for the operation. The lawyer confirmed a corresponding report in the “Kronen Zeitung” to several Austrian media outlets. This fact emerges from the public prosecutor’s documents, according to the lawyer.
Since the 13-year-old is not criminally responsible, she cannot be prosecuted. However, as the lawyer told ORF, there was someone who told the girl: “Put the hole in the hole!” The other people who were present during the operation also did not prevent the crime, although they could have done so. He now wants to take criminal action against the entire surgical team.
Although the patient survived the operation well, the lawyer believes that this is a case of serious bodily harm. “He is lying there like a piece of meat and is being operated on without his consent by a 13-year-old who is not licensed – and that is not legal,” he told ORF. He announced that his client would like to obtain compensation for pain and suffering through civil law.
Investigations are ongoing
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the proceedings are still not over. The police have not yet questioned the accused and they are waiting for the final report from the criminal investigation department.
When asked by Austrian media, the Styrian Hospital Association, to which the Graz Regional Hospital belongs, would neither confirm nor deny that the 13-year-old had drilled the hole herself. The fact that she had “actively participated in the operation” only became known after a statement on May 29.
The company further announced that it is sticking to the dismissal of the two doctors. The rest of the team present at the operation has been warned. However, it reserves the right to impose further consequences depending on the outcome of the investigation and possible criminal proceedings.
