Will a broken kneecap heal itself or is this doctor just avoiding her?

A friend of mine, 72, was in the clinic of a very small town. There were kids in the ladies room spraying water from the sinks and laughing, she slipped and fell down breaking her kneecap. Her husband refuses to sue. The clinic put a cast on it and she is now using a walker.
She went to the local doctor who acted shocked that she had a cast on. She was uncomfortable since , she claims, everyone in the town knows what happened. He then said it would “heal on its own” , gave her Norco and let her go. I suppose he doesn’t want to have to testify in a lawsuit that won’t even happen. So will it heal itself ? He did not refer her to a surgeon or order X-rays.