Bowel Perforation Lawsuit

The Illinois personal injury attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC understand how to pursue and resolve bowel perforation claims.

Let our legal team carefully review your evidence and help you file a medical malpractice claim. Our medical malpractice attorneys can help determine if another party's medical negligence caused your damages and injury.

Discuss your compensation claim with our medical malpractice lawyers, who will protect your rights and obtain financial compensation on your behalf. Contact us today at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone call) for a free legal consultation.

Perforated Bowel Common Causes

An organ failure or bowel perforation is a serious complication after surgery. A rapid heartbeat pain that intensifies when the patient moves and experiences a feeling of fullness are common symptoms of bowel perforation.

Bowel perforation can occur in the small or large intestine wall. The body's small intestine is an elongated, tube-shaped digestive organ under the abdominal wall. The stomach pushes partially digested food into the small intestine before passing it into the large intestine (colon).

Any perforated injury or hole in the intestinal wall could leak waste (feces), bacteria, digestive juices, and food into the abdominal cavity. The leaking material may cause an abscess (collection of pus) that enters the bloodstream, leading to septic shock, sepsis, infection, or even death.

Due to this, an accurate and quick diagnosis, followed by a colonoscopy, treatment, or abdominal surgical procedure, might be imperative for the patient in treating an injury and saving their life.

Bowel perforation can occur for various reasons. Common causes of a bowel perforation might involve:

• Growing tumors entering the intestinal wall
• A tumor formation in the intestinal wall that shrinks quickly following chemotherapy or radiation, leaving a hole
• Abdominal or pelvic injuries caused by radiation therapy or weakening of the intestinal wall, causing perforation
• Large or small intestinal blockage (bowel obstruction)
• Non-cancerous diseases, including diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, toxic megacolon, Crohn's disease, peptic ulcers disease, strangulated hernia, and reduced blood flow to the intestine
• Surgical errors or medical mistakes during a colonoscopy
• A reaction to chemotherapy medications, including Avastin (bevacizumab), Gleevec (imatinib), Nexavar (sorafenib), and Torisel (temsirolimus)
• Vehicle accidents
• A horrific forceful impact causing an abdominal traumatic injury including knifing, severe blows, a gunshot injury, swallowing caustic (corrosive) substances, or sharp swallowed foreign objects necessitating extended hospital stays

Any surgical procedure involving the abdomen has an associated risk of bowel perforation, causing fecal matter in the bowel to leak into the peritoneal cavity, abdomen, and surrounding areas. Bowel perforations are not life-threatening when discovered and corrected early.

However, failing to promptly detect or treat a colon perforation could cause severe life-threatening complications and threaten the patient's life.

If you or a loved one has sustained a bowel perforation, you may be entitled to compensation for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and other damages.

Medical bills can quickly add up after a bowel perforation, especially if you need a second surgery to repair the damage.

Seeking Legal Help

Have you experienced gastrointestinal perforation during a medical emergency procedure or colonoscopy? Do you suspect that your serious injuries resulted from a surgeon's error?

Call an experienced law firm specializing in perforated bowel malpractice cases.

Contact a competent lawyer. They can look over the facts of your medical malpractice case and determine if defective drugs, the doctor, the nursing staff, or the surgeon's negligence led to your damage.

Symptoms of Perforated Bowel

Medical negligence can have serious consequences, such as a perforated bowel.

Many patients undergoing a colonoscopy or other abdominal procedures will develop common symptoms associated with bowel perforation. Postoperative symptoms from bowel perforations requiring abdominal surgeries could include:

• High fever with low blood pressure
• Severe abdominal pain or stomach pain
• Leaky abdominal cavity
• Vomiting or nausea
• Chills
• Fevers
• Bloody bowel movements
• A swollen or bloated abdominal distention
• Rapid breathing

Experiencing any of the symptoms associated with the above requires immediate medical attention by a competent doctor with the tools to accurately diagnose the problem, likely by an exploratory laparotomy procedure.

Without treatment, the patient may develop infections or septic shock, invading the bloodstream and carrying it throughout the body. Bowel perforations followed by a septic infection immediately indicate medical malpractice, requiring additional surgeries to save the patient's life.

Instead, a doctor or medical staff might have made medical errors when addressing a gastrointestinal tract perforation.

Diagnosing a Perforated Bowel

Bowel perforation is a medical emergency. A diagnostician will use various tests and equipment to detect bowel perforation, including asking the patient to define their symptoms the medicines they are taking, and any previous treatments.

An examination will involve looking for tightness or swelling in and around the abdomen. The doctor will use a stethoscope and other equipment to identify bowel sounds that might confirm an impaction or other serious digestive problem.

Standard tests used to diagnose a hole in the bowel wall include:

• CT scan
• Ultrasound
• X-rays
• CBC (complete blood count) blood test
• Comprehensive blood tests that identify invading bacteria or abscesses

Required Treatment for People Who Have Perforated Bowels

Perforated bowels require additional surgical procedures, and the patient may need medications like intravenous fluids and a colostomy bag for a short time until the bowel heals.

Risks are involved every time a patient needs an operation, but the benefits often outweigh the risks. One of the doctors' defenses might include the accepted risk doctrine. This doctrine is the assumption that in instances where a person knows of the risk of an activity, that person accepts the risk when voluntarily engaging.

A corrective procedure to repair a perforated bowel could prevent painful and life-threatening conditions. If a doctor fails to detect or treat a perforated bowel, they may be liable for any complications or conditions resulting from that failure.

Determining Medical Malpractice for Bowel Perforation During an Abdominal Surgery

Medical malpractice cases involving bowel perforation can be extremely complex. A doctor can be held liable only for perforating a bowel during a medical procedure, colonoscopy, or initial surgery. In this case, the standard of care determines their liability.

A medical malpractice lawsuit can be filed if the doctor fails to meet the standard of care, resulting in a condition that causes undue harm to the patient.

The easiest way to determine whether you should take legal action is to discuss your case with an experienced Illinois medical malpractice lawyer.

Our attorneys have a network of medical experts who can evaluate your case to determine if medical negligence is involved and explain how your physician failed to meet the standard of care.

Medical records and surgical reports will be reviewed to see if the surgery was performed properly and if there were any resulting complications.

Filing a Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Life-threatening bowel perforation is a serious condition that places patients at imminent risk and can lead to the need to conduct a bowel diversion, such as a colostomy bag.

Some patients never fully recover from a colonoscopy that went wrong or other surgery that caused severe bowel injury.

Any family that lost a loved one from a preventable patient's death due to a doctor's failure to diagnose or surgeon error has the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit to recover all damages.

Typical bowel perforation damages might involve:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Lost future earnings
• Loss of companionship
• Funeral and burial costs
• Pain and suffering

A bowel perforation lawsuit may lead to compensation where the patient or the surviving family members receive funds to pay for the doctor's mistake. A personal injury attorney could build the case to hold the doctor, medical providers, or others legally accountable for causing serious health problems.

Our bowel perforation malpractice attorneys are experienced with severe bowel perforation cases involving fatalities and are committed to recovering compensation available under Illinois law. Contact us today.

Schedule Your Free Consultation with Medical Malpractice Lawyers to Create an Attorney-Client Relationship

Were you injured during a colonoscopy or a gastrointestinal tract surgical procedure? Did the severe damage result in a preventable infection?

Have you or a family member suffered preventable bowel perforations? Contact our medical malpractice lawyers at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone call) to schedule a free consultation to discuss your situation.

The Chicago, IL, medical malpractice attorneys at Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC are experienced in litigating medical malpractice cases. Our access to experts in medicine allows us to determine whether your doctor has met the standard of care while treating you.

When you contact our perforated bowel malpractice attorneys, our firm will investigate the details of your personal injury case with a free evaluation to determine whether you should proceed with litigation. Unless we win or settle your case, you will owe us nothing.

Medical Malpractice Settlements

Nearly every medical malpractice lawsuit is resolved through an out-of-court settlement instead of in front of a judge and jury, even million-dollar cases involving severe injury or even death.

All information you and your loved ones share with our Chicago medical malpractice attorney remains confidential through an attorney-client relationship.

Resources:

• National Institute of Health – Surviving with an Intestinal Injury
• The Sepsis Alliance – Damaged Bowels