Our law firm routinely handles medical malpractice cases pertaining to errors made during gallbladder surgery. As years have passed, the techniques to accomplish gallbladder removal surgery have gotten less invasive and more successful. They feature high rates of recovery and are able to leave little evidence of surgery. However, accidents still happen, whether due to simple oversights or egregious errors by doctors and nurses alike. As a result, individuals can sustain great harm while undergoing gallbladder surgery. If you have been hurt in such an incident, you deserve fair compensation for your damages. The responsible doctor and hospital should be made to pay for the ensuing debts and expenses. Our law group in Los Angeles, Downtown LA Law Group, has years of experience in medical malpractice lawsuits and we know the best routes to winning you the fairest compensation for your injuries.

What is the gallbladder’s function?

The gallbladder is shaped like a pear and is located on the right side of your body, below the liver. It stores bile, which is used to break down fats in the digestive process. When there are issues with the organ, small, hard fragments begin to form, called gallstones, which can cause intense pain (although symptoms may vary). They do not pass on their own like kidney stones do, and must be surgically removed.

What causes the need for gallbladder surgery?

Gallbladder surgery can occur for any number of reasons. Gallstones are the most common. Some of the stones can even reach the size of a golf ball, which can cause patients to suffer for days or weeks before going to the hospital. In addition to gallstones, the gallbladder can become inflamed, which is called cholecystitis. A gallbladder surgery would remove the organ and allow the liver to process bile directly into the biliary tree. The organ is not considered a crucial requirement in the body.

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What are the different kinds of gallbladder surgery?

Gallbladder surgery occurs by either an open surgery or a laparoscopic surgery. In open surgery, an incision is made on the stomach so that the gallbladder can be directly cut out and removed. Open surgeries were required due to doctors needing to have the cavity open to see what they were doing.

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However, as time went on, scopes were developed that allowed doctors to see inside the body without being too invasive. As a result, laparoscopic surgeries began occurring. These surgeries involve numerous small incisions that allow a tube and video camera to be inserted into your belly; from there, the doctor operates outside the body, controlling the tools inside to remove the gallbladder. Nowadays, 9 out of 10 surgeries on the gallbladder are complete laparoscopically.

What kind of injuries can happen during a gallbladder surgery?

There are numerous kinds of injuries that can occur while a gallbladder surgery is happening. Some are more common with open surgeries. For example, you may be damaged in the following ways:

• Perforated or torn bowels, intestines, liver, and other organs
• Incision, slicing, breaking, cutting, or removal of the common bile duct, which can result in peritonitis
• Carbon dioxide may enter the blood, leading to gas embolism
• Leakage that resulted in infection
• Internal thermal injuries and burns due to cauterization that happens when a wound is closed up
• Malignant tissue, dead flesh, and other infection-causing parts are left behind
• Abscesses
• Jaundice from infection of the liver

Post-surgery, other injuries can appear, such as pain, digestive troubles, infection, cholangitis, hemorrhage, pancreatitis, and more.

What are examples of medical malpractice in a gallbladder surgery?

The doctor performing the surgery must take care to not botch the surgery or harm you while you are on the table. There are various ways that doctors have hurt their patients during gallbladder surgery. Some ways include:

• Doctor failure to address, respond to, or fix your complaints once the surgery was completed
• Using unsterilized or dirty tools to perform the surgery
• Not properly stitching you up
• Removing the wrong organ or removing another organ besides the gallbladder
• You require another follow-up surgery or procedure to correct a wrong that should not have happened in the first place
• Your post-operative state was not monitored by a doctor or nurse
• An infection lead to you suffering various problems, like sepsis

How do you know if you have a medical malpractice case?

In order for you to have a medical malpractice case, you must be able to show four points of negligence. These negligence points are present in all lawsuits related to personal injury, and they are only slightly tweaked for medical malpractice. They are as follows: You must have established that you are owed a duty of care by the doctor or hospital in the form of a doctor/patient relationship. This means that the doctor must be caring for you, is your primary physician, is the one completing the surgery, and more. You could have a duty of care without an explicit agreement; for example, if you were rushed to the emergency room and did not have the ability to agree to being seen by a specific doctor, the one who performs the surgery will have a duty of care towards you. Simply receiving medical advice, for instance, is not being owed a duty of care if something were to go wrong.

Every year over 500,000 gallbladder surgical procedures are performed in the United States; with more that 80% of them being performed using the Laparoscopic system. Unfortunately many gallbladder procedures are negligently performed by practicing surgeons resulting in serious medical emergencies and injuries to the patient. Victims who have suffered injuries resulting from a botched gallbladder surgery using the laparoscopic method are entitled to monetary compensation form all at fault parties including the practicing physician, nurses and hospital staff assisting in the procedure and manufacturers or Laparoscopic medical devices.

The duty of care must have been breached in some way. The doctor may have performed the wrong surgery, refused to sterilize equipment, or acted in a way that another suitable and accredited doctor would not have acted. This is a key point: other doctors will back up whether or not the doctor in question’s actions were reasonable or unreasonable. The breach of duty must have led to an accident or incident of some kind that caused injuries. These additional injuries can be any number of problems that would not have occurred had the doctor been more careful. The injuries must have lasting or specific damages. If there are no ill effects from the injuries, it is hard to argue for medical malpractice. For example, an internal burn caused by cauterization may not be severe enough that the patient even becomes aware that it happened. There would likely be mild discomfort, but so long as no infections happen, there would be no specific or lasting injuries.

Gallbladder – Severed Bile Duct injuries caused by Medical Negligence:

The gallbladder is a small balloon shaped organ located below the liver with the primary function to store bile used by intestine to digest food.  In some instances gallstones, small calcified deposits, form and block the bile duct which lead from the gallbladder to the intestines. In some severe cases gallstones  the recommended course of action is to have the gallbladder removed via surgery. Currently most gallbladder surgeries are performed laparoscopically referred to in the medical community as laparoscopic cholecystectomy or lap chole procedure.

The injury part is crucial – if you were not actually harmed in the surgery, you will be unable to file a claim for medical malpractice.

How long do you have to sue a hospital for negligence?

The statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases is one year from the discovery of the injury or three years from the date of the injury. This means that if you discover you were hurt, you have one year from that date to file a claim; if you do not discover it in the first year, you have three years from the time the injury took place to take legal action. This statute is important to adhere to, as it dictates when you can actually sue and when you will be barred from doing so. You may be able to have the statute extended depending on the circumstances, however. For instance, if you were a minor at the time of the surgery and you were harmed, you could have the time limit begin counting down once you turned 18 years old. Additionally, the doctor could have left the state, which would freeze the deadline until he returned.

How much is the average medical malpractice settlement for a gallbladder surgery?

Gallbladder malpractice lawsuits often pull in well over $250,000 in compensation. This is due to the large amount of medical expenses that can rack up. However, it should be noted that with medical malpractice claims, pain and suffering damages are limited to $250,000. This is important, as the highest settlements in personal injury cases usually result from these damages. There is no upward cap on medical expenses, however. Complications caused by botched Gallbladder Surgery: Failed Gallbladder removal procedures can result in serious medical condition inflicting great pain and suffering on its victims. Some common medical conditions associated with gallbladder surgery malpractice include:

• Gastrointestinal complications
• Infections caused by bile draining into the abdomen
• Bile Leakage
• Jaundice and Abscess
• Cholangitis
• Fatality caused by Gallbladder surgery error
• Requirement of revision surgeries including the placement of stints to protect the cut bile duct

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Botched Surgeries

– Botched Hemorrhoid Surgery
– Botched Circumcision Surgery
– Botched Gallbladder Surgery
– Botched Epidural Injection
– Botched Plastic Surgery
– Botched Hip Replacement Surgery
– Laparoscopy Surgery Injury Attorney
– Botched Bris Attorney
– Botched C-Section surgery

What could I earn from a medical malpractice claim?

With the help of our expert lawyers at the Downtown LA Law Group, you could receive various types of compensation for your medical malpractice claim. We will do our best to ensure that you are fully covered for the injuries you suffered from the surgery and anything afterward. You may be able to secure coverage for:

• Medical expenses from the past and future
• Lost wages from the past and future if you needed additional time off from work to recover or get treatment
• Property damage if anything you owned was broken as a result of the injury
• Pain and suffering damages (emotional trauma, PTSD, anxiety, fear, psychological stress, and more)

Further, if a loved one or family member passed away during the surgery or as a result of complications from the surgery, we can fight for wrongful death expenses. These expenses will cover funeral and burial costs, loss of consortium, pre-death medical bills and pain and suffering, loss of expected savings and inheritance, and more.

The Ultimate Guide to Medical Malpractice

– Medical Malpractice Attorney
– Medication Errors Attorney

– Medical Device Defect Injury Attorney
– Transvaginal Mesh Attorney
– Defective Pharmaceutical Drugs

– Doctor Committed Medical Malpractice

– Kugel Mesh Patch Complication Injuries
– DePuy Hip Replacement Attorney
– DePuy ASR Hip Replacement FAQ
– Gallbladder Surgery Malpractice Attorney
– C-Section Malpractice Attorney
– Hysterectomy Malpractice Attorney
– Nerve Injuries Due to Medical Malpractice
– Wrongful Death Medical Malpractice Attorney
– Kaiser Malpractice Attorney
– Delayed Diagnosis Lawsuit
– Operation Error Lawsuit

– Botched Bris Attorney
– Circumcision Injury Physician Malpractice

– Dental Malpractice Attorney
– Dental Implants Malpractice claim
– Liposuction Malpractice Lawyer
– Plastic Surgery Medical Malpractice Attorney
– Podiatrist Malpractice Attorney
– Dermatologist Malpractice Attorney

– Medical Malpractice After a Car Accident
– Transvaginal Mesh – Surgeon Liability

Medical malpractice claims are difficult to litigate requiring analysis of hundreds if not thousands of pages of data and medical records and stern resistance from defense council and the medical doctors they are defending. If you have any further questions and would like to speak to one of our attorneys regarding your claim call (888) 649-7166

The Firm for You

Downtown LA Law Group in Los Angeles is one of the top-rated law firms in the city. We have years of experience handling medical malpractice claims and we have secured hundreds of thousands of dollars for our clients who have suffered injuries during gallbladder surgery. We know that you may find it difficult to file a claim by yourself, and we will dedicate ourselves to winning your case for you. If the hospital’s insurance company refuses to pay out a satisfactory settlement, our aggressive lawyers will take your case to court. Call our firm to set up a free legal consultation with a qualified lawyer. We invite you to ask us any questions you like about the legal process and how viable your lawsuit is. We will also tell you what we believe it is worth and how we will help. All of our consultations are confidential; none of your case information will be shared elsewhere. If you hire us to represent you, we’ll give you our zero fee guarantee, which promises that you won’t pay any out of pocket expenses for our services. We will get paid if and only if we win, and the fees will be covered by the settlement we win for you, so the hospital will be responsible for the legal bills. If we lose, you will be off the hook and not owe us anything whatsoever. Don’t hesitate to reach out to Downtown LA Law Group for more assistance with your gallbladder surgery medical malpractice lawsuit.