Bowel Damage

Minor complications due to surgical procedures – such as nicks and cuts to the bowels or esophageal lining – are normally outlined as risks that patients must accept when agreeing to undergo surgical procedures such as endoscopies, laparoscopies and open surgeries. However in some cases, medical malpractice may lead to a more serious complication, such as sepsis, or even cause a death. In such incidents, the experienced Massachusetts-based medical malpractice team at Altman & Altman LLP are ready to assist you today.

Our personal injury and medical malpractice attorneys have over 50 years of experience going against hospital insurance companies who refuse to take responsibility for negligent doctors and securing satisfactory settlements and verdicts for our clients. We will handle your case with the care and attention necessary during your most difficult times.

A study of 351 bowel perforation claims between 2007 and 2013 revealed that a majority of malpractice claims come as a result of an incident from an endoscopy, an exploratory procedure where a surgeon will guide a viewing device down the throat and into the stomach to assess a medical situation and formulate a plan. Next were claims from laparoscopic surgeries – a broad term meaning surgical procedures to the organs within the abdomen – and lastly were open surgeries, where a surgeon must open the abdomen to fix an issue.

In many of these cases, there was no cause for a malpractice suit because the damage done during surgery was expected, quickly realized and corrected without further harm coming to the patient. However, in some cases, these surgical errors went unnoticed and unrepaired until the patients experienced life-threatening conditions such as:

• Blood poisoning (sepsis)
• Septic shock
• Necrosis
• Severe abdominal pain
• Vomiting
• Tachycardia (elevated heart rate)
• Peritonitis (inner abdomen inflammation)
• Pneumonia
• Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
• Brain damage

In these cases, the surgeon who performed the surgery and allowed the symptoms to go on uncorrected – either due to not ordering follow-up tests, examinations, abdominal x-rays or CT scans or even ignoring a patient coming into the office and complaining of abdominal pain following a surgery – is liable for the medical expenses incurred and quality of life issues inherited by the patients they have injured.

According to the study, negligent surgeons contributed to 16 percent of claims involving routine endoscopy operations, 26 percent of laparoscopy claims and 25 percent of open surgical procedure claims, clearly showing that mistakes made in the operating room are incredibly harmful and potentially deadly.

Undergoing surgery is scary and painful enough without accruing an additional malady on top that was the result of a negligent doctor or a mistake made during a procedure. Doctor’s and surgeons bear an enormous burden of responsibility when operating on patients, and at Altman & Altman LLP we hold them accountable for either gross negligence or costly mistakes.

Recovering from a successful surgery would already place a burden on somebody who relies on working a job to pay their bills. Adding an additional recovery due to an additional complication may result in an insurmountable hardship for a patient working paycheck to paycheck. In such a situation, it is essential to acquire competent, experienced personal injury representation to fight on your behalf to ensure you can receive financial compensation for injuries sustained through no fault of your own.

We will work with you in order to secure a sizable settlement, fight on your behalf in the courtroom if necessary and deal with insurance companies to ensure that you are able to collect disability payments while you are in recovery and unable to work. You have enough to deal with while recovering from surgery, so let us handle the burdensome paperwork and phone calls.

Call us for a free consultation today at 617.492.3000 or toll-free at 800.481.6199 to go over the details of your case. We are available 24/7.