Do You Have A Claim?

Injury during laparoscopic gallbladder surgery may be preventable

When it does occur, it may indicate that the surgeon has fallen below an acceptable standard of care.

Negligent doctors with insufficient training can cause serious complications resulting from laparoscopic gallbladder surgery. Patients who have suffered complications often have a claim, and may be entitled to compensation.

Because of the recognized “learning curve” with this gallbladder surgery, errors may be on the part of the doctor due to insufficient training, supervision, experience or care.

Sometimes the doctor has not done much more than a weekend course in this complicated procedure. Then he or she will perform a few procedures alongside a more experienced surgeon before attempting the procedure alone. However, a weekend’s training and a few supervised procedures are not sufficient to prevent errors during this surgery. When a doctor is receiving training in this procedure, he or she must be carefully supervised by an experienced doctor.

The “learning curve problem” means that the doctor’s earlier surgeries have a much higher rate of complications than his or her later surgeries. If your laparoscopic cholecystectomy was during your doctor’s learning curve, you may have an additional cause of action if you weren’t fully informed about this prior to the surgery.

Also, if your surgeon was not adequately trained and/or hadn’t performed an adequate number of supervised surgeries prior to operating on you, you may have a strong case against the doctor and/or the hospital that allowed the doctor to perform the procedure.

In addition, sometimes the attending surgeon does not actually perform the operation. Instead, the surgical intern performs the surgery while the attending surgeon watches over his/her shoulder. This may be a recipe for disaster if the intern is not properly supervised.

If you were not advised of all the risks associated with the laparoscopic gallbladder surgery procedure in relation to traditional gallbladder surgery — and in particular the risk of bile duct injury — there may be additional liability on the part of the doctor.

Patients have a right to know all of this information so they can make an informed decision and give informed consent prior to surgery.

Patients who are injured during this procedure experience many hardships, including severe illness, risk of death or death itself, repeated surgeries, ongoing pain and suffering, ongoing digestive problems, significant medical expenses, and other damages such as loss of income.

The experienced laparoscopic gallbladders lawyers at Trief & Olk can help you evaluate whether you have a claim and can help you get the compensation and justice you deserve. Please contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation.