Perforated Bowel Malpractice

If you suffered a bowel perforation during a surgical procedure, you may have grounds for a medical malpractice claim. At Arfaa Law Group, our experienced Baltimore medical malpractice attorneys understand the how serious a bowel perforation is and how it can cause serious health complications, including death. An experienced legal advocate can analyze the facts of your case and help you assess your legal rights and options.

A perforated bowel, or a nicked bowel, occurs when the bowel or any area in the gastrointestinal tract is punctured. When a leak occurs in the gastrointestinal tract, the opening allows food, stool, fecal matter, and bacteria to leak into the peritoneum or abdominal space, which can lead to a number of serious health problems such as infection, sepsis, peritonitis, organ failure and even death. In fact, a bowel perforation is a medical emergency that can lead to life-threatening complications if it is not treated in a timely manner. Some symptoms of a perforated bowel include: severe abdominal pain, fever/chills, headache, rapid heartbeat, nausea and vomiting.

Bowel perforations can be caused by a number of factors and illnesses. Just because a bowel perforation took place during surgery does not necessary mean it was the result of medical malpractice. In such cases, the standard of care determines the liability. A doctor will only be liable if he or she failed to adhere to the standard of care that a reasonably competent doctor would have adhered to while performing the same procedure, and that failure to adhere to the standard of care was the direct cause of undue harm to the patient. In order to win a medical malpractice case, the plaintiff must establish the following elements:

• A doctor-patient relationship existed, hence the doctor owed the patient a duty of care;
• The doctor’s actions violated the duty of care owed to the patient;
• The doctor’s actions were the direct cause of the patient’s injury; and
• The patient’s injury caused specific compensable damages.

Once perforated bowel malpractice occurs and is identified, a doctor will need to fix the cause of the perforation. In many cases, individuals who experience a bowel perforation during surgery will need a second procedure to repair the complication. A second surgery represents additional medical bills, hospital stays and time missed from work. Fortunately, to account for this, Maryland law allows victims of surgical malpractice to recover compensation for things like medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, pain and suffering, lost wages and more. A skilled medical negligence lawyer can help you pursue the damages you may be entitled to.

Like every other type of claim, medical malpractice claims must be filed within a certain time frame known as the statute of limitations. Under Maryland law, a medical malpractice lawsuit must be filed in civil court within five years of the time that the injury was committed or within three years of the date the injury was discovered, whichever is earlier. You should be aware that if you are relying on the three-year “discovery” part of the statute, as the plaintiff, you have the burden of proving that you did not discover or could not have reasonably discovered the malpractice until you took legal action. Failure to file within the statute of limitations could mean permanently losing your right to compensation.

If you or someone close to you experienced perforated bowel malpractice in Baltimore, you may be entitled to compensation for your harm in a medical malpractice or wrongful death lawsuit. At Arfaa Law Group, our experienced medical negligence lawyers will thoroughly review the details of your procedure and help determine your legal options. If we take on your case, you can rest assured that we will consult with the necessary experts and use our resources to zealously advocate for your rights. For a free case evaluation, please call us today at 410-889-1850 or contact us online.