Archive · 7 Aug 2026
Bihar launches inquiry into cartons-as-splint fracture treatment at Begusarai hospital
A man named Krishna Kumar got hurt in a road accident.
He was taken to a hospital in Bihar, India.
The doctors there did not have a special medical splint.
So they used cardboard cartons to keep his broken leg still.
Someone took a video of this and shared it on social media.
Many people saw the video and started talking about it.
Hospital officials said using cardboard can be an okay way to help in an emergency.
Still, the government started an inquiry to find out what exactly happened.
The man was later moved to another hospital and was treated successfully.
The hospital says it needs more doctors and supplies.
The Bihar government initiated an inquiry after a video showed a man's fractured leg immobilized with cartons at Manjhaul Sub-divisional Hospital.
Krishna Kumar, a resident of Maheshwara village in Begusarai district, was seriously injured in a road accident on July 15.
Begusarai Civil Surgeon Ashok Kumar said the procedure was a life-saving mechanism but an inquiry would examine the circumstances.
The patient was referred to Begusarai Sadar Hospital, where he was treated successfully and later discharged.
Hospital officials cited shortages of orthopaedic specialists and fracture splints, noting that rigid materials are an accepted temporary splint in first aid.
- Who
- Krishna Kumar, a resident of Maheshwara village in Begusarai district, who was injured in a road accident.
- What
- Hospital staff used cartons as a temporary splint for his fractured leg, and the Bihar government initiated an inquiry after a video of it went viral.
- When
- The accident occurred on July 15; the inquiry was announced on August 7.
- Where
- Manjhaul Sub-divisional Hospital in Begusarai district, Bihar, India.
- Why
- The inquiry was ordered to determine the circumstances under which the carton-splint procedure was carried out after the video circulated widely on social media.
Critics
Hospital Officials
Use of cartons as a splint
Critics
The viral video suggests patients received substandard care and points to possible negligence by hospital staff.
Hospital Officials
Using cardboard or other rigid material as a temporary splint is an accepted medical first-aid practice when a standard splint is unavailable, and was used as a life-saving mechanism.
Hospital resource shortages
Critics
The lack of fracture splints and orthopaedic specialists reflects serious gaps in the hospital's capacity to provide proper care.
Hospital Officials
Despite constraints, staff made efforts to provide safe and effective treatment with the available resources.
- Patient
- Krishna Kumar
- Hospital
- Manjhaul Sub-divisional Hospital
- Location
- Begusarai district, Bihar
- Incident date
- July 15
- Injury
- Fractured leg from a road accident
- Follow-up treatment
- Begusarai Sadar Hospital (successful)
- Inquiry ordered by
- District Magistrate Srikant Shastri
- Official response
- Civil Surgeon Ashok Kumar said it was a life-saving mechanism, not medical negligence