Surgery Malpractice: Ruptured Colon

A ruptured colon can occur during surgery if the doctor puts too much pressure on the colon, or causes blood flow to a portion of the colon to be cut off. Nicking the colon with surgical instruments or accidentally ripping and tearing the colon can also cause the colon to rupture. A ruptured colon can cause infection in the tissues around the colon, and can even cause death. If your doctor does something to rupture your colon during surgery, you may have a strong case for surgical malpractice.

Understanding Surgical Malpractice

When a surgeon performs an operation on a patient, that surgeon has a duty to his patient. He has a duty to perform the surgery with a reasonable level of competence. If the surgeon fails to this and is negligent in the care he provides, he can be held legally liable. In order to make an assessment as to whether a surgeon was negligent and thus should be held responsible, the surgeon's behavior is compared to other reasonable surgeons. If a reasonable surgeon would not have made the mistake that led to the ruptured colon, then your doctor was unreasonably negligent for doing so.

Proving mere negligence is not sufficient to prove medical malpractice, however. The negligence had to have actually caused the injury. This means you also must prove that the ruptured colon would not have occurred, but for what the doctor did.

If you can prove these essential elements of a medical malpractice case, then you can typically recover damages from the surgeon including monetary compensation for:

• Any medical bills that were required to treat the ruptured colon
• Any lost income or wages that occurred due to you missing work as a result of the ruptured colon
• Any physical pain that the ruptured colon caused to you
• Any emotional distress you experienced as a result of your ordeal

It is, however, important to note that there are states who have put limitations on medical malpractice damages. For example, in certain states, a cap is imposed on non-economic damages limiting your recovery to a set amount. In California, for instance, you are limited to $250,000 in non-economic damages resulting from a single instance of medical malpractice.

Getting Help

If you have experienced a ruptured colon as a result of surgical malpractice, you need to get help. Consult with a qualified medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible so you can find out how to go about recovering damages from the doctor who hurt you.