Mistakes During A Hysterectomy Can Be Deadly Or Debilitating

Medical Malpractice Mistakes

When a woman’s womb is removed through at surgical procedure, it is known as a hysterectomy.  It is a major surgical operation and requires an extended recovery.  This procedure is performed only once all the less invasive treatment options have been explored.  Women between the ages of 40 and 50 are most likely to undergo this surgery.  Every year in the United States about 600,000 of these procedures are performed.

All medical procedures, hysterectomies included, carry risk.  Those risks include:

  • Bladder injury
  • Bowel or small intestine perforation
  • Difficulty urinating
  • Excessive blood loss
  • Formation of a fistula
  • Intestinal obstruction
  • Mechanical obstruction of the intestines
  • Post-operative infections
  • Ureteral injury, and
  • Vaginal vault granulation

Common causes of medical malpractice liability stemming from the performance of a hysterectomy include:

  • Improperly diagnosing a condition
  • Unnecessarily or improperly performing the procedure
  • Failing to obtain the patient’s permission before performing the procedure, except in emergency situations
  • Failing to inform the patient of the risks associated with the procedure
  • Negligently causing or contributing to any of the risks above

As with any surgical procedure, just because the outcome was not what you expected, that does not mean that medical negligence was what caused the injury.  To win a medical malpractice case against the health care professionals involved in the performance of the hysterectomy, it is necessary to prove that they did not provide the patient with the quality of care and the diligence of a competent health care professional under similar circumstances.  In order to prove this, the victim will likely need to find a medical expert witness with experience in performing hysterectomies to testify.  They will need to testify about the proper standard of care and whether the defendant lived up to that standard.  The victim will also need to prove that their injury resulted from substandard care and actions of the gynecologist performing the hysterectomy.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of medical malpractice, contact an experienced Kingston, New York medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible to evaluate your case.

But what do you think?  I would love to hear from you!  Leave a comment or I also welcome your phone call on my toll-free cell at 1-866-889-6882 or you can drop me an e-mail at jfisher@fishermalpracticelaw.com.  You are always welcome to request my FREE book, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims, at the home page of my website at www.protectingpatientrights.com.