Cut Bile Duct Malpractice

When you or a loved one has laparoscopic surgery or an open procedure to remove or repair the gallbladder, it may result in injury when a negligent surgeon cuts your bile duct. When that happens, bile can enter your abdomen, and this bile duct injury can put your life in danger. This can result in a medical malpractice case.

In order for the human body to process and utilize the fat found in food, the liver must produce bile and the gall bladder is responsible for storing excess bile for future use. It is not uncommon for unused bile to form crystals known as gall stones and these stones can cause blockages or extreme pain when being passed through a person’s system.

If gall stones form on a regular basis or the size of the stones being formed poses a threat to the well-being of the patient, a cholecystectomy is performed to remove the gall bladder. While the procedure is common and considered to be safe, inexperienced surgeons have a higher incident rate and may cut and fail to repair the bile duct, resulting in malpractice

Your Cut Bile Duct Legal Team

If a surgical error has caused your duct injury, you may be entitled to damages in your case, including medical expenses. The Chicago attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers can help hold a negligent surgeon accountable for the injury that you have suffered. If you have suffered serious injuries in a surgery, you may have a medical malpractice case.

How Do Duct Injuries Occur?

Bile duct injuries can occur in a simple laparoscopic procedure or it can even happen in an open procedure. Sometimes, gallbladder removal surgery can involve the use of a video camera to take out the patient's gallbladder. This type of gallbladder surgery is called a laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

However, when the surgeon is trying to remover the gallbladder, they may make the errors below and cut the common bile duct. This is a case of laparoscopic surgery gone wrong.

Common Injuries Caused by Harm to the Bile Duct

The most common injury to the bile duct occurs when the surgeon mistakes the bile duct, which brings bile into the intestines for the cystic duct, which connects the liver to the gall bladder. Because bile is required to break down fat, we are unable to live without it. Complications that can arise due to injuries sustained during the removal of a gall bladder include the following.

• Infection of the abdomen caused by leaking bile filling the abdominal cavity.
• Inflammation of the bile duct, small intestine, and surrounding tissue.
• Pancreatitis, which is an infection of the pancreas— the organ responsible for producing and releasing insulin into the blood so that the body can process sugar.
• Internal bleeding caused by injury to the bile duct that is left untreated by the attending doctor, which can cause infections or death if the patient loses too much blood.

If it is determined that any of these complications are the result of medical malpractice or negligence on part of the attending doctor, you may be able to file a malpractice lawsuit in order to seek damages. Because of the difficulty in proving medical malpractice, it is important that your attorney is qualified and experienced in malpractice law.

Negligence on the Part of Attending Physicians

The incident rate is substantially higher when the surgeon has not had extensive experience and it is not uncommon for another surgeon to be present to correct and repair the damage caused by any errors. When the more experienced of the surgeons is able to notice the problem and intervene, there is a much lower rate of complication. Failure to notice or correct an injury during the procedure threatens the patient’s life, may require additional surgery to repair the damage, and is grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Experienced Bile Duct Injury Lawyers Committed to Your Case

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC is a leading law firm in Illinois for representing clients injured due to medical malpractice and has been able to win cases due to our access to experts in the medical field who are able to provide compelling testimony to support our clients’ claims when there are surgical errors.

Not only do bile duct injuries pose a threat to your life, but the additional procedures required to save your life because of a doctor’s error result in high medical expenses and you should not need to foot the bill because your surgeon did not take the necessary precautions required to make sure that your internal organs were not damaged.

If you have suffered severe injuries during a medical procedure, it is important that you speak with an attorney so that you are fully informed about your rights and whether you have a case as a plaintiff. Your recovery may include:

• Pain and suffering
• Lost wages
• Medical Bills
• Wrongful Death