The Nonthaburi Provincial Court in its Thursday verdict against the doctor also said the ministry was responsible for paying the compensation to the victim on behalf of its affiliated hospital.

Ministry spokesman Dr Suphan Srithamma said the Royal College of Orthopaedics had commented that the splint applied by the Nakhon Phanom doctor on the girl's leg had not impaired blood circulation, which was claimed to have caused the severe leg infection.

By the time the girl arrived at the hospital, the blood supply to her left leg was restricted for more than 20 hours, Suphan said.

Despite the Nakhon Phanom Hospital doctor trying his best to fix the broken bone on the left leg as well as the wound, it was too late to save her leg from amputation, Suphan said.

The ministry will decide whether to appeal the judgement, he said.

About 41 other similar cases are also awaiting court ruling, he added.

Dr Somsak Lolekha, president of the Medical Council, said that in the United States, only 6 per cent of patients won against doctors in malpractice suits. "But in Thailand the rate could be zero because no expert witness is sent to testify in court," he said, adding that the ministry usually arranged for a lawyer, whose medical knowledge was next to nothing, to fight a case.

Arthit Khwankhom

The Nation