As experienced personal injury attorneys, we at Shapiro & Appleton& Duffan have assisted our clients in prosecuting claims against doctors who commit medical malpractice as a direct result of their negligence during gall bladder surgery.
The gall bladder is a small organ located just below the stomach and next to the liver. It performs an important function in the process of digesting your food. However, over time, the gall bladder can become inflamed and painful as a result of deposits building up in it known as gall stones. When a gall bladder becomes painful and inflamed, it can be removed by a gall bladder surgeon through an incision which allows him to easily visualize the gall bladder and all structures that are adjacent to it like the bile duct, the cystic duct and the cystic artery.
In recent years, gall bladder surgeons have begun performing gall bladder surgery through the use of laparoscopes. Laparoscopy allows the surgeon to remove the gall bladder with a much smaller surgical incision. This shortens the amount of time the person with a bad gall bladder may have to stay in the hospital.
Unfortunately, gall bladder surgery using a laparascope requires the gall bladder surgeon to be extra careful to properly identify all of the structures that are attached to the gall bladder. If the gall bladder surgeon is negligent in identifying these adjacent structures, he or she may injure one of them. Usually, if this occurs, the negligent surgeon does not realize he has injured an adjacent structure and sends the patient home. This will result in the injured person becoming extremely sick and can, if not treated promptly, result in death.
Laparoscopic gall bladder surgery can be a very effective tool. However, the gall bladder surgeon performing the laparoscopy has to be very careful not to negligently injure or misidentify his or her patient’s anatomy. If he or she does, he may be guilty of medical malpractice and the gall bladder patient should retain the services of an experienced medical malpractice and medical negligence attorney.
At our Virginia medical malpractice firm, we have represented many botched gall bladder surgery victims and our attorneys are experienced at handling those cases to obtain a maximum recovery for our clients. If you, or someone you know, has been injured as a result of medical negligence during gall bladder surgery, e-mail or call us today so that we may assess your case and protect your interests accordingly.