Proving Medical Malpractice in Bowel Perforation Incidents

Generally, a perforated bowel will cause the intestinal matters to flow into the abdominal cavity and result in widespread blood infections. Bowel perforation incidents happen during certain surgical procedures such as appendectomy, laparoscopy, hysterectomy, or colonoscopy.

At other times, bowel perforation can happen even without any medical negligence. However, experienced surgeons are supposed to know if particular patients are at high risk of bowel perforation incidents during surgeries.

A bowel perforation incident should be treated as a medical emergency, and surgeons have an immense responsibility to ensure that a patient suffering from bowel perforation is provided appropriate medical attention to avoid fatalities.

As the outward symptoms of bowel perforation may widely vary from one patient to another, the experienced surgeon must closely monitor the patient's body and lab results to quickly detect a bowel perforation. Surgeons are usually trained to listen to bowel sounds, bowel movements, gas movements, abdominal distention, or food tolerance along with lab values, to holistically assess the outward pain symptoms of a post-surgical patient. If a surgeon fails to do that, he or she will be guilty of medical negligence.

Post-surgical medical negligence

As immediate surgery is required for a victim of bowel perforation, the surgery team must be prepared in advance for such a sudden debacle. During bowel-perforation-related surgery, healthcare professionals have to flush out the abdominal fluids, bacteria, and blood, following which the damaged bowel can be repaired.

When doctors fail to repair the bowel in a timely manner, the next available solution is a colostomy. During colostomy, waste is collected in a bag outside the body. Colostomy serves as a temporary solution till a more permanent solution is found for the bowel repair.

Moreover, the patient has to be given high dose of antibiotics to contain the infections. If doctors fail to treat the patient in the appropriate manner following a bowel perforation, which leads to more serious health impairments, a close family member of the victimized patient has full rights to bring a medical malpractice case against the doctor and other medical staff at the hospital.

Evaluating malpractice in bowel perforation cases

In bowel perforation incidents, an enquiring legal team has to analyze and understand the gradual development of mishaps from the initial surgery to post-operative emergencies to remedial measures taken by the medical staff to save the patient.

So, usually all medical malpractice teams appoint a qualified medical expert to analyze and gauge the malpractice situation, based on the complete study of the full treatment cycle and available evidences. When this analysis finds sufficient data to question the standard of care provided by medical providers during the post-operative period, a strong medical malpractice case can be built against the hospital and its medical staff.

During a malpractice case, the legal team has to assess whether the bowel perforation is itself a violation of the standard of care or whether the surgeon's negligence to treat the perforation expediently is a violation of the standard of care. In most bowel malpractice cases, the treatment procedure following the bowel perforation is under scrutiny rather than the bowel perforation itself.

Legal implications of bowel perforation

A skilled medical malpractice attorney can build a convincing malpractice case by showing:

· The surgeon and the medical team failed to read warning signs after the surgery and conduct the necessary diagnostic tests.

· This failure led to serious health damages for the patient.

Thus, the doctor and the medical team violated the standard of care causing grievous injuries to the patient.

RMFW Law delivers winning results

In a bowel perforation case, the victim's representative should contact an able medical malpractice law firm in New York like Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff, & Wolff of RMFW Law at 212-344-1000.

The first meeting with RMFW Law is free. We know how to win cases. We have won millions of dollars for past clients. Our track record is exemplary. We are one of the topic law firms in the city and the area.