ANOTHER ALLEGED MALPRACTICE CASE.

Evening Star, Issue 3445, 7 March 1874, Page 3

ANOTHER ALLEGED MALPRACTICE CASE.

rd n actibn'sinjilar .toFfiatTof fi unt v. Sorle}’ h'M’‘against another medical man. t lt ia brought ’ Fiji' Mr Dahiel Fisher, who keeps an accqmniodatjoh hduee at Mann gatnii, against Dr Jaimes Si *Brearty, ; a medi in the neighborhood, fpr in the shapeof LIOO damages for .:the( loss of the services of Mr PUher’Asoni Who had been attended by the doptoF while suffering from a broken fchighbonO. . The Heairing Of. evidence began atthe Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday morn, ing, Mr : ,M‘Keay appearing for the plaintiff and Mr Macassdy for the defence, and from the statemehts of the witnesses already ex* •mined'it appealed that the accident hap* Sued ' in >eptember last, aud Dr M'Brearty ißg immediately called in. pronounced the hoy ’s leg {to be 1 “ clean' bri •ken,” and said 1 be ’ should not require "the services of. another doctor. He then got a piece of wood : three feet, long and three,. inches wide, and bound it alohjl.the,-outsidej of the leg, which, was ‘ tept in that ptate for ten weeks, the dbcto> occasionally calling and' tightening the bandages, and always remarking that' the patient waa gettingf'pn.beautifully, a fter thie.time he phta bandage round the boy?s neck, and foot, and- Started him on cratches ;, and when; reference was made to a large lump on the leg, replied that .it was simply congea'ed,matter ich would {go away in about a year;. The mother thep“ said the injured, leg ,appeared* » ht{tle shorter than.the other, to which the doctor replied that the' boy would soon wear out Of ,thaF r , tFroin .this tirne he ceased his visits, ft n d‘ tbe“parenfcs, getting doubtful of •I*.. still, p called in a Dr Bruce, on whose recommendation'the hoy was 1 taken' to Dunedin, and there, examined ,by Drs Deck,' Htiline, l&kfewell, luglis r and Burr rows. These generally agreed' that the leg had better F be left alone, Dr Huliue stating that he.had,never seen a worse case'in his life : the irijured leg is two inched shorter than the other and will never be sonnd. It was •H®' “>ebpinjqn cf this witness that the boy’s M obly temporarily have been bound ffl described, just While hewaa being taken home. _ The consequence of. the treatment given was that th'e fractured bone was united pt ah angle-causing what is called an anmila.r deformity.’ practitioners, Dr Hulme admitted. had not 'eq aal means of dealing fractures to those' attainable lift Hospital, and he therefore thought Or M ‘Brearty should have re* commended the hoy’s parents to send him td -institution. ' ,|n answer to Mr iWitneas. said hjj was aware that a fepfipg ex|st£d apoopg some people up country wat 'if they sent a friend to s|ie Dunedin Hospital they bad seen the last of him. Mr ?*?her stated ba. Court that his reason for bringing theactioh was to obtain money tb‘ *jsin’ bw son rip to some profession, as since the accident the latter would never be able to do a day’s hard work. The boy used to b® very usdful about the bouse, attending to the ptables, ahd doing other work. During the wool season ho used to earn Ifia a wpek, apd ttiis season was to have received gOs a week, t,b? adjourned at half-past five O’clock," there being still a 1 number of witnesses to call, the further hearing Of the case was postponed till Tuesday next. '