An orthopaedic surgeon applied a plaster to a patient’s leg after setting a fracture. Next morning on rounds, the patient was complaining of pain in the leg and the toes were swollen. The surgeon wrote on the chart “Plaster too tight foot swollen.” He later removed the plaster and applied a new plaster. He then wrote “tight plaster removed, new plaster applied.” When the patient was discharged, he was found to have nerve damage and sued.
The doctor was found liable for applying the plaster too tightly.