Child in Surgery: Both Doctors in Graz Acquitted

In January 2024, the woman took her daughter to a skull surgery, where the then twelve-year-old allegedly drilled a hole for a probe into a patient's skull according to the indictment. Due to lack of evidence, an acquittal was granted.

On January 13, 2014, a 33-year-old was admitted to LKH Graz after a serious forestry accident. He had suffered a traumatic brain injury and needed immediate surgery. The operation was performed by a doctor and a senior physician, with the surgeon still in training and under instruction. The neurosurgeon brought her daughter into the operating room. After most of the operation was completed, the accused allegedly handed the drill to the girl so that the child could drill the hole for the probe according to the indictment.

Defendant claims not to have seen the incident clearly

The doctor stated that she was occupied in the background at the time and did not see whether her daughter actually drilled. Her colleague supposedly asked if the twelve-year-old could help, and she replied, "Why not?". An operation participant claims to have seen four hands on the drill, in which case the girl would not have operated the instrument alone.

The case came to light half a year later through an anonymous report. Both defendants were dismissed from their hospital duties, the woman contested the decision and achieved a conversion into a termination.

According to prosecutor Julia Steiner, the doctor allegedly announced with pride after the operation that her daughter had just made her first drill hole. A witness is said to have confirmed this. "She seemed relaxed and also proud," stated a nurse.

Patient Suffers from Psychological Impairments

An operating room assistant could remember almost nothing; he couldn't even say whether the girl was in the room or not. He created the surgery report, in which the twelve-year-old does not appear. "I only started it, the nurse finished it," was his statement.

The patient who had been operated on was also called as a witness in the trial. According to his own statements, he still suffers from pain in the area of the drill hole and is unable to work due to his psychological condition. He continues to take strong tablets for the headaches and suffers from sleep disturbances at the thought "that a twelve-year-old operated on me".

Acquittal Due to Lack of Evidence

The prosecutor was of the opinion: "The defendants are anything but credible". The doctor’s defense attorney, Bernhard Lehofer, pointed to the rather vague statements of the witnesses and emphasized: "You cannot destroy two careers based on rumors". The judge followed this opinion and acquitted the two defendants. "There are no direct witnesses, it cannot be determined whether the child drilled," she explained in the reasoning of the judgment, but added: "Ethical and moral considerations are not decisive". The judgment is not legally binding.

(APA/Red)

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