What This Page Covers:
- Surgical Errors: Gallbladder surgery errors can lead to severe complications like bile duct injury, bowel perforation, and wrong-site surgery, significantly impacting patients’ lives.
- Medical Malpractice: Not all surgical errors are malpractice; it must be proven the medical team deviated from the standard of care, causing harm.
- Seeking Compensation: Victims of surgical errors can file for compensation covering economic and non-economic damages, including medical bills, lost wages, pain, and suffering.
- Davis & Davis: With over 70 years of combined experience, Davis & Davis provides dedicated and compassionate legal representation for victims of gallbladder surgery errors.
- Call our office directly at (888) 522-9444 or using our contact form.
When simple gallbladder surgeries are botched due to physician error, the result can be life-changing, if not deadly. When your doctor breaks their standard of care by committing a wrong-site surgery or by coming into work intoxicated and making the choice to operate, you pay the consequences. Side effects can be severe and cause a plethora of additional medical concerns and surgical procedures, which can not only be tolling on your body, but your mind and your wallet.
You have a right to be compensated for pain, suffering, and loss by filing a medical malpractice claim. Davis & Davis, a Houston-based law firm, represents victims of medical malpractice and their families. With significant experience and a record of tangible verdicts and settlements, our attorneys provide compassionate counsel and aggressive advocacy for clients. Contact a Houston, Texas gallbladder surgery lawyer from Davis & Davis to schedule your free consultation today.
Examples of Gallbladder Surgical Errors
Gallbladder removal surgery, also known as laparoscopic cholecystectomy or lap chole, is a common medical procedure. By performing the surgery laparoscopically, pain and recovery time can be significantly reduced. Unfortunately, this procedure can also increase the opportunity for surgical errors, such as:
- Injury to the common bile duct or other biliary structures
- Transection of the wrong ductal structures
- Perforated bowel
Not every surgical error can be classified as medical malpractice. Surgical procedures inherently carry certain risks, and complications can occur even when the medical team performs everything correctly. For an error to be considered medical malpractice, it must be proven the surgeon or medical staff deviated from the accepted standard of care, resulting in harm to the patient.
For example, if your doctor fails to take your full patient history into account or take the time necessary to properly identify the biliary and duct structures, your time as a patient has been endangered. Also, many doctors performing laparoscopic procedures have not received specific training and have little to no experience with this form of surgery, which can further endanger patients.
A Houston, Texas Surgical Error Lawyer Can Fight for You
When it comes time to seek financial restitution for your injuries, it’s best to do so under the guidance of a dedicated gallbladder surgery attorney who is ready to devote the time and resources necessary to fight for you. When you partner with Davis & Davis, you are allowing yourself access to a team that will handle the following while you rest and recover:
Gather Evidence
When our team takes over your case, our first course of action will be collecting and assessing potentially relevant information to be used as evidence. In a gallbladder surgical error case, this can include the following:
- Medical records, including pre-surgery diagnostics, surgical notes, and postoperative care instructions
- A list of your symptoms, treatments received, and any complications experienced
- Second opinions from other medical professionals to substantiate your claims
- Photos, videos, and personal notes
- Witness statements from family or friends who observed your condition before and after the surgical error
At Davis & Davis, we can assist in securing expert testimony and conducting thorough investigations to ensure every piece of evidence is meticulously examined.
Establish Negligence
In order to hold the medical care provider accountable, whether it’s the doctor, the nurses, or the healthcare facility itself, they must first be proven liable. This is done through the four components of negligence, which include:
- Standard of care: In this case, the standard of care is the expectation that your doctor is qualified to handle your surgery and will work to the best of their professional ability on your condition.
- Breach of care: When this standard is breached due to being overworked, underqualified, understaffed, or for another negligent reason, you run the risk of being injured.
- Causation or link: Being overworked does not immediately result in negligent care. In order to establish causation, there must be a direct link between the breach of care and the resulting damages.
- Resulting damages: These are the injuries you have sustained in direct response to the breach of care.
Once a liable party has been identified, we can help you file a claim for compensation and financial justice.
File Your Claim
Filing a claim on your own can be tricky. It’s hard to know exactly what to send, where to send it, and the time limit you have. However, our gallbladder surgery attorneys have extensive knowledge of the two-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases and will ensure all of the correct documentation is included in your filing.
At the end of the day, a great way to give yourself the best possible chance at a high settlement and justice is to go through a gallbladder surgery attorney with a proven success record.
Recovering Compensation for Your Gallbladder Surgery Errors
Patients who suffer from gallbladder surgery errors face an extensive and painful journey to healing. Some may never fully recover, even after reconstructive surgeries. Some may even require a liver transplant. Then, for some, the “simple” procedure may result in peritonitis (infection) and end in wrongful death.
For this egregious surgical error, you are owed compensation. Our team will fight tooth and nail for you to receive the following damages:
- Economic: Compensation for your tangible or measurable losses is referred to as economic damages. This compensation will cover the cost of past, present, and future medical bills, lost wages due to the inability to work, and any necessary rehabilitative therapy or prescription medication.
- Non-economic: For losses that are not necessarily measured monetarily, non-economic damages are here to help. This includes general pain and suffering as a direct result of the gallbladder surgical error, anxiety and depressive disorders, and more. Your attorney can help you calculate a number that reasonably covers these losses.
Texas currently has a damage cap on non-economic damages, which means your allotted compensation for pain and suffering can not equal over $250,000. There is currently no cap on economic damages for medical malpractice claims.
Consult a Dedicated Surgical Error Lawyer at Davis & Davis
With over 70 years of combined experience to offer, Davis & Davis has a deep understanding of how a gallbladder surgery gone wrong can negatively impact your life. From the viability of your career to your ability to spend time with family and friends, medical malpractice affects everyone differently. Let our team take some of the weight off your shoulders and start the process of getting your life back on track to a happy and healthy future.
The experienced gallbladder surgery attorneys at Davis & Davis are committed to providing compassionate care for our clients while fiercely advocating for their rights. For a free consultation and case evaluation, please call our Houston office at (888) 522-9444 or fill out our contact form. Davis & Davis proudly accepts referrals from Texas attorneys and law firms nationwide.
