| | LADYSMITH, Wis. -- A clinic is under investigation for
failing to tell police about a gunshot wound after Indiana coach
Bob Knight accidentally shot a friend while hunting.
Rusk County Sheriff Dean Meyer said Friday he is awaiting
reports from a state conservation warden, who is looking into the
actions of the Ladysmith clinic.
"I am sure we will bring it to a conclusion and find out why
and make sure it doesn't happen again," Meyer said.
Thomas Mikunda, 49, of Exeland, Wis., was treated Oct. 12 at
Marshfield Clinic-Ladysmith Center after being shot in the back and
upper shoulder when Knight's 20-gauge shotgun accidentally
discharged as he attempted to aim at a grouse, the state Department
of Natural Resources said.
A game warden said Friday that Knight did not accompany Mikunda
to the clinic and returned home to Indiana.
Knight did not immediately return a telephone message left at
his office Friday by The Associated Press.
Under Wisconsin law, doctors must report all gunshot wounds to
law enforcement agencies.
The Ladysmith clinic's medical director, Dr. Doug DeLong, said
the physician who treated Mikunda was not aware that a wound from
shotgun pellets needed to be reported.
Mikunda was struck by 16 pellets, the DNR said. The clinic
treated him and he went home.
"Any type of gunshot wound is a serious situation. I would
think they would have reported it to us and would know they have
the obligation to report it," Meyer said.
Knight failed to report the accident. He also was cited for
failure to report a hunting accident and for hunting without a
nonresident small game license in 1999 and 1998.
The DNR said the fines for each of the three citations is $165.
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