Court in Austria acquitted doctors who allowed 12-year-old child to assist during skull surgery
An incredible case at the University Hospital of Graz gained international notoriety: in January 2024, a neurosurgeon allowed her 12-year-old daughter to assist during an operation.
According to the prosecution, the girl even independently drilled a small hole in patient Gregor P.'s skull, writes Bild.
The surgeon and her assistant were dismissed from the clinic, and a trial even began on charges of causing bodily harm. The verdict was unexpected: both doctors were acquitted due to lack of evidence. Allegedly, the child held the medical drill with one hand, but did not drill independently.
"They allowed the girl to drill a hole in the patient's already exposed skull bone using a surgical drill," stated prosecutor Julia Steiner.
Before this, the neurosurgeon allegedly explained to her daughter how the device works, and her colleague regulated the rotation speed during the intervention.
Steiner clarified: "What would have happened if the drill hadn't automatically stopped after passing through bone tissue? This was incredibly disrespectful to the patient and colleagues."
Patient Gregor P. still feels the psychological consequences of the operation: "When I remember that a twelve-year-old operated on me, my sleep is disturbed," he said in court. — "I would never have agreed to this."
During the trial, the senior doctor apologized for bringing the child into the operating room: "It was the most terrible mistake of my life." She explained that she was distracted by phone calls and did not notice her child asking a colleague if they could help. The assistant stated that he did not argue with the doctor about what the child was doing in the operating room. When the first rumors started circulating in the clinic, the neurosurgeon, he claims, advised him to deny everything.
According to one witness, after the operation, the mother went into the ward with her daughter and proudly said: "My daughter just drilled a hole for the first time."
The case became known after someone filed an anonymous report. The doctor's assistant assured that the girl put her hand on his hand, but at no point did she operate the device independently. The judge ultimately acquitted both defendants due to lack of evidence: no one saw the child drilling independently. Personally, she called what happened "madness."
The victim's lawyer stated that he would file a civil lawsuit against the girl: "I estimated the claim for moral damages at 20,000 euros."
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