A South Carolina widower received some measure of justice when a jury in Pickens County, SC, handed down a $2.4 million wrongful death award to be paid by surgeons and an obstetrics and gynecological medical practice. Jurors found that the defendant OB/GYNs had failed to diagnose and properly repair a bowel perforation following gynecological surgery on the plaintiff’s wife.
Injuries to the intestines, bladder and ureter are known, but usually easily avoidable, complications from hysterectomies and other lower abdominal surgeries. When such complications do occur, the best outcomes for patients are follow-up operations to repair the damage, weeks to months of intense pain and, more often than not, ostomy bags to collect bodily waste.
Left undetected and untreated for a period as short as three days, however, cut, nicked or perforated bowels can cause fatal blood infections or deaths from internal bleeding.
My Carolina medical malpractice law firm colleagues and I have helped many victims of botched surgeries receive compensation for their injuries and medical expenses. Holding surgeons to account for the harm they do to patients is essential both for helping the victims recover physically and financially and for encouraging the health care providers to be more protective of future patients.
EJL