A few years ago my teenage son was on his bike and got hit by a car. Both legs were damaged, minor cuts on one leg, the other leg was ripped open. The wounds were covered and an ambulance took him to hospital (this is in New Zealand).

When I got to hospital my son was waiting to go into surgery and he said that his leg was in pain. I asked the surgeon if he had x-rayed the leg and he told me that he did not need to because the ambulance guy had told him (the surgeon) that his leg was not broken. The ambulance guy had explained that because my son was in shock he only thought that his leg was in pain because of how it looked.

I told the surgeon and the registrar, (who agreed with the surgeon), that I was sure that my sons leg was broken just under the knee and should be x-rayed.

After arguing with the surgeon and the registrar and getting nowhere, another doctor came in to see how my son was doing and suggested taking an x-ray of both legs - what a good idea. My sons leg was broken.

The ambulance guy should have stuck to his own job, and the surgeon should have known better.