Dr Abdus Patel, who blamed them for his leg amputation, told the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, that if his neighbour and colleague, Dr Aboo Baker Joosub, and Dr Frederick Louw had acted with haste after he was shot, he would have had his leg today.
But Judge Elizabeth Kubushi this week turned down his claim and said his colleagues could not be blamed.
Patel was also ordered to pay his colleagues' legal bills.
Patel was accosted by two men at his home surgery on August 7, 2009, during which he was robbed and shot in the left thigh.
The bullet shattered the femur into two pieces, transected an artery and injured a vein.
The paramedics were called to his house and he was taken to the Standerton Hospital Trauma Unit. But while the paramedics were busy treating him at his house, Dr Joosub, heard of the shooting as he was about to enter the mosque.
He rushed to Patel's house and phoned the Standerton Hospital to alert them he was on his way.
Louw was on call at the time and promised to tend to Patel as soon as he was done with an appendectomy that was scheduled for later.
When Patel arrived at the hospital, Louw was not yet there and Joosub, who followed his friend to hospital in his car, phoned around to try and to find another doctor who was recommended by Patel.
But while on the phone, Louw walked in and examined Patel. He found there was a possibility of a vascular injury, which could not be treated at the Standerton Hospital.
Louw then sent Patel for X-rays and then attended to his appendectomy, for which he was running late.
Louw decided to transfer Patel to the Pretoria East Hospital and he phoned another colleague, a Dr Marcel Straub, an orthopaedic expert there, to take care of Patel when he arrived.
Straub, however, said he was not on duty at the time, but would refer Patel to Dr Willem Tollig. Straub undertook to inform Tollig about Patel's condition.
Judge Kubushi said it was perhaps here where "things went south" as it appeared that during the transfer arrangements there was a communication breakdown.
It also appeared the Pretoria East Hospital was not equipped to deal with this type of injury.
Patel was meanwhile rushed by ambulance to this hospital, where he arrived two hours later.
When he arrived there, he then had to be transported to the Pretoria Heart Hospital.
By this time the lack of blood and oxygen to his leg led to it having to be amputated.
Patel claimed Joosub was negligent, as he should have transferred him to a facility with vascular facilities, and should have ordered his transfer to Pretoria via a helicopter.
But the judge turned this down and said Joosub was not the doctor on duty, although he did all he could to assist his friend.
Regarding Louw, Patel said he, too, acted too slowly as he was not at the hospital the minute he (Patel) arrived there.
But Judge Kubushi said it couldn't have been expected of Louw to have "dropped everything and rushed to treat Patel".
She said he was there as soon as he could, when he immediately tended to Patel.
-Sourced
The Pretoria East hospital that was not equipped to treat Dr Patel.