Albuquerque Gallbladder Malpractice Lawyers

How the Gallbladder Works

The gallbladder is located directly under the liver. This organ is important because it stores and concentrates bile from the liver. That bile is released into the first sections of the small intestine, so bodies can break down and absorb fats from food. The liver produces 27 to 34 fluid ounces of bile every single day, so it is constantly working and aiding in digestion. To get to the gallbladder, the bile is secreted by the liver into small canals that lead to the common bile duct. That duct branches off and leads to the gallbladder.

While a person does not need their gallbladder to live, problems can arise if the organ stops working properly. When that happens, surgery may be recommended or required.

Problems with the Gallbladder

The gallbladder can easily become infected over time, in some cases for no particular reason. Patients who experience abdomen pain and go to the doctor may be told that they need to have gallbladder surgery to remove it. Most times, it’s a simple operation: the surgeons are in and pop it out; you go through a quick recovery and go on with your life before any pain or problems arose. Of course, as any lawyer will tell you, things (unfortunately) don’t always go according to plan. Mistakes happen, error occur, and patients become victims – all over a relatively simple procedure to deal with a troublesome part of our body.

The most common issue people face with their gallbladder is gallstones, solid masses of fused bile that can grow to be the size of golf balls; if one finds its way into a duct, it can block the release of bile and you will develop a painful infection requiring the organ’s removal. Once removed, the bile will drip directly into your intestine from your liver.

During the removal process, things can easily go wrong, even if they aren’t always common. The most likely scenario is that the surgeon clipped or punctured a bile duct causing more problems to arise. Less likely than that is that surgical instruments may be left behind in the patient’s body to cause pain and infection. Lastly, the anesthesia may be improperly administered. In any of these cases, the patient can become a malpractice victim due to prolonged pain, sickness, or even death – all from a quick mistake that could have been avoided with proper care.

There are situations where problems with the gallbladder develop, and the organ needs to be removed—the official name for which is a cholecystectomy. This is not uncommon. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), nearly 300,000 cholecystectomies are performed annually. Medical problems and conditions that lead to removal include:

• Cholecystitis. This is the inflammation of the gallbladder. In most cases it’s the result of gallstones blocking the tube leading out of the organ. Other causes include bile duct problems, tumors, and certain infections. If left untreated, life-threatening complications like a bladder rupture can occur.
• Symptomatic Cholelithiasis. Cholelithiasis is the medical term for gallstones. These are hard, crystal-like lumps that form out of bile. If there is excess cholesterol or pigments in the bile, the gallstones develop inside the gallbladder. In many situations, a person could have them without experiencing any symptoms. When there’s pain or vomiting, however, there may be a problem. If the pain is chronic, doctors consider surgery to remove the organ.
• Biliary Dyskinesia. This condition develops when the gallbladder retains bile. Abdominal pain, poor appetite, nausea, and vomiting are common.
• Gallstone Pancreatitis. Pancreatitis causes inflammation and pain in your pancreas. If a gallstone is blocking the pancreatic duct, it’s considered gallstone pancreatitis. While not eating or drinking for a few days in a monitored hospital setting can fix the problem in some cases, severe cases may require gallbladder removal.
• Gallbladder Polyps. These are growths that protrude from the lining of the inside of the gallbladder. In most cases, they are not cancerous. When they are, however, the normal course of action is to remove the organ.

If you’ve been diagnosed with one of the conditions above and suffered complications after having your gallbladder removed, medical malpractice could be the cause. Let’s take a look at some warning signs of malpractice.

Gallbladder Surgery Mistakes and Complications

Laparoscopic and open gallbladder surgeries are relatively common procedures that may – or may not – leave people with some enduring health issues.

In fact, some people can resume normal activities within 10 days of a gallbladder removal operation, and they may not experience any digestive (or other health) issues in the aftermath.

For others, though, there may be a range of complications that arise. Knowing what to expect and how to deal with these possible issues can be important to promoting optimal health and quality of life following gallbladder surgery.

Examples of the more minor health issues that can arise after gallbladder surgery include (but are not necessarily limited to):

• Problems digesting fatty and fried foods
• More frequent bowel movements
• Cramping or stomachaches (especially after eating larger meals).

The following are some helpful tips for reducing or treating these minor gallbladder surgery complications:

• Limit fatty food intake and adopt a low-fat diet.
• Slowly reintroduce high-fiber foods back into your diet.
• Eat smaller meals (and consider adding snacks to your diet).
• Avoid eating large amounts later in the day/evening.
• Keep a recovery journal where you can record details about your diet and when/which foods may cause you problems.

If these measures don’t reduce the discomfort experienced after gallbladder removal surgery, it may be time to talk to a doctor about the symptoms and relief options. For some patients, starting a course of medication (or pursuing additional treatments) may be necessary or helpful.

In some cases, patients may develop serious injuries and health complications – like infections – after undergoing gallbladder surgery.

High fever, severe abdominal pain and bloating, and nausea can all be red flags of more serious gallbladder surgery complications.

When these warning signs arise, it’s crucial that affected people:

• Seek emergency medical attention to prevent potentially life-threatening complications from developing.
• Meet with a medical malpractice lawyer (as soon as their health is no longer in grave danger) so they can find out if medical negligence may have played a role in causing their injuries. It is not uncommon that medical professionals’ mistakes cause or contribute to gallbladder surgery injuries.

If you’re experiencing abnormal complications and believe negligence played a role, there are a number of potential mistakes the surgeon could have made. The most common error is when the surgeon clips or cuts the bile duct instead of the cystic duct. To reconstruct the patient’s anatomy, complicated and potentially painful surgery is often needed. Complications can also arise if anesthesia is improperly dosed.

Determining Gallbladder Malpractice Claim Eligibility

If you’re uncertain as to whether or not negligence played a role in your injury, it’s best to get in touch with a lawyer. With a free case evaluation from Buckingham & Vega Law Firm, an attorney can go over the details of your case and determine if a medical error caused the injuries you’ve sustained. If you’ve experienced abnormal pain, additional surgeries, or unclear recovery information, it’s likely malpractice is present.

Determining liability is typically harder than recognizing signs of malpractice. This is because of the number of people involved in any one surgery. The liable party could be a surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurse, or the hospital itself. The type and degree of your injury, along with a medical expert’s opinion, can help us determine whose negligence harmed you.

Once we’ve proven malpractice, determined who harmed you, and connected the harm to your losses, we can work on calculating the compensation you’re owed.

When Hospitals May Be Liable

In general, hospitals can be liable for the mistakes and negligent actions of their staff – like nurses. These facilities can also be liable when their policies or settings contribute to patients’ injuries.

In the context of gallbladder surgery injuries, hospital liability can come into play if or when:

• Nurses leave surgical tools inside of patients.
• Nurses fail to monitor post-operative patients, especially when these patients are clearly displaying signs of serious complications.
• Surgeons, who are clearly incompetent and/or have a history of harming patients, are allowed to perform gallbladder removal surgery.
• Hospitals lack sanitary or appropriate equipment (or operating rooms) for performing gallbladder removal surgeries.
• Hospitals policies promote or increase the risk of surgical errors. This, for instance, can be the case if hospitals lack policies to prevent never events, to appropriately monitor patients after surgery, etc.

Here, it is also important to point out that, if a surgeon’s error (like mistakenly cutting a bile duct) has harmed a patient (and that surgeon does not have a history of incompetence), the hospital will not necessarily be liable. This is because surgeons are typically not considered to be hospital employees. In these situations, the surgeon (and/or other negligent medical professionals) can still be liable for patients’ injuries even if the hospital is not on the hook for them.

When hospital liability may be a factor in a gallbladder surgery medical malpractice case, there can be a number of ways to prove liability. Some possible evidence for these cases can include (and is by no means limited to):

• Hospital staffing records
• Hospital policy documents
• Patients’ medical records and test results
• Testimony from expert medical witnesses.

Work with an Experienced Albuquerque Legal Team

Our Albuquerque gallbladder malpractice lawyers have years of experience representing surgical error victims. We recognize the challenges that come with being injured by a physician—a significant portion of which typically revolves around bills and finances. That’s why we dedicate our work to helping injured gallbladder surgery patients recover compensation for their losses.

While monetary awards vary from case to case, it’s likely you could be eligible for economic and noneconomic damages. Economic damages cover your medical expenses, lost wages, the future cost of care, and other calculable losses. We’ll also look into the noneconomic losses you’ve experienced, like pain and suffering. Our attorneys will be sure to have the evidence needed to support the compensation you’re seeking.

Filing any personal injury claim takes time, so it’s best to seek legal representation as soon as possible after realizing you’ve been injured. Once we have some basic information from you, we can begin investigating what you’ve been through and determining what you’ve lost as a result. 

To get started on securing your future, contact us today.