Medical Verdicts

Bowel injury leads to long recovery


 

Shelby County (Tenn) Circuit Court

An elderly woman underwent a hysterectomy as treatment for endometrial cancer. During the procedure the bowel was injured. Two days later a second surgery was performed to repair the bowel, but was unsuccessful. After a third surgery, an abdominal infection and a fistula developed, requiring a lengthy recuperation.

In suing, the woman claimed the defendant negligently performed the first surgery. The defendant contended that the injury was a surgical complication due to dense adhesions encountered during the first procedure.

  • The jury returned a defense verdict.
The cases in this column are selected by the editors of OBG Management from Medical Malpractice Verdicts, Settlements & Experts, with permission of the editor, Lewis Laska, of Nashville, Tenn (www.verdictslaska.com). While there are instances when the available information is incomplete, these cases represent the types of clinical situations that typically result in litigation.

Recommended Reading

Use -58 modifier only when D&C is planned
MDedge ObGyn
Monitor delay blamed for cerebral palsy
MDedge ObGyn
Is misoprostol wrong for induction?
MDedge ObGyn
What caused leak: UTI or PPROM?
MDedge ObGyn
Small-bowel transection causes death
MDedge ObGyn
Did OB ignore risk factors?
MDedge ObGyn
Woman delivers fetus’s head into toilet
MDedge ObGyn
Fetal injury from repeat vaginal delivery
MDedge ObGyn
Was delayed cesarean cause of cerebral palsy?
MDedge ObGyn
Dilation & curettage fails to end pregnancy
MDedge ObGyn