Surgery Medical Malpractice Lawyers - Canada Injury Compensation Claims
LEGAL HELPLINE: ☎ 855 804 7125Our surgery medical malpractice lawyers deal with surgery negligence cases. If you would like legal advice at no cost and with no further obligation just call the helpline or complete the contact form or email our lawyers offices. Our surgery medical malpractice lawyers usually deal with personal injury compensation cases on a contingency basis which means that you only pay legal fees if the case is won. Most negligent surgery cases involve abdominal operations including gynecology surgery however our lawyers deal with a wide range of surgery medical malpractice cases including chest, heart and brain surgery.
Finding the right surgery medical malpractice lawyer can be a frustrating process. How do you know who to choose? How do you know whether they are experienced enough to handle your case? Do they have access to the best possible medical experts? Can they provide accurate advice? Will they conclude your case in a timely manner or will you be waiting years and years before you see any money? Our lawyers are personal injury experts. They have many years of experience in handling a wide variety of surgery medical malpractice claims. They have access to excellent medical experts and can provide you with accurate, comprehensive advice. The best part of this is that it does not cost you anything to access our service. You can speak to a lawyer and make up your own mind as to whether you want to use them or not. There is no obligation. If you do decide to go ahead with them, it won't cost you a penny because they all operate on the no win no fee scheme.
How Do I Prove My Case?
Our personal injury compensation claim lawyers will advise you about what is needed to establish liability. If it can be proved on the balance of probabilities (the civil standard of proof) that somebody else was negligent and as a result of their negligence you have suffered injury or loss, then you will be compensated for your loss.
How Much Compensation?
The amount of compensation that you will be entitled to will depend on the severity of your injuries and disabilities and the extent of your loss. A compensation award is comprised of different categories as follows:-
- Compensation for pain and suffering; loss of amenities of life; loss of life expectancy.
- Loss of Income: includes past and future income loss.
- Out-of-pocket expenses: includes medical expenses; pharmaceutical expenses; rehabilitation services; cost of travelling to and from medical appointments to receive medical treatment.
- Gratuitous domestic care provided to you by family members or friends as a result of your illness, injuries and disabilities.
- Interest on damages is paid at a rate and from a time set by the court until the date of payment of compensation.
General Damages
Special Damages
Interest on damages
Glossary of Personal Injury Law Terms
Duty of Care
Did the defendant owe a duty of care to the plaintiff? In most medical malpractice cases the mere existence of a patient/doctor relationship satisfies this requirement.
Standard of Care
This is a tricky question in surgery medical malpractice claims. Doctors are not judged in absolute terms but must exhibit similar skills to that of a reasonably competent surgeon faced with a similar situation. The mere fact that surgery has a less then optimal result does not automatically imply negligence. The fact that alternative treatment may have succeeded does not necessarily imply negligence provided that a substantial body of surgeons may have chosen the same route.
Causation
Did the defendant's breach of duty cause the injury? Causation is essentially a question of fact.Did the medical malpractice directly cause the injury suffered by the victim. A surgery medical malpractice lawyer needs to pay attention to this issue.
Burden of Proof
Who carries the burden of proof? In a compensation case, the legal burden of proof lies on the party who asserts the proposition. If a plaintiff is suing for personal injury damages, the plaintiff carries the burden of proof- that is, the onus is on the plaintiff to establish their case according to legal principles.
Standard of Proof
The standard of proof generally required in an action is the civil standard of the 'balance of probabilities'. For example, in medical malpractice cases, the questions are whether on the balance of probabilities the injury was caused by a breach of duty on the part of the defendant and whether the losses were caused by that breach of duty.
Abdominal Surgery - Medical Malpractice
Abdominal surgery can involve any kind of surgery to the abdomen, including bowel surgery, weight loss surgery, other stomach surgery, heartburn surgery, gallbladder surgery and even surgery to major organs, such as the liver, spleen and kidneys. Most abdominal surgeries, while complex, have no specific complications but the possibility of severe complications and death are always possible. Doctors make every effort to protect the abdominal contents from perforation, infection or bleeding but it is not always possible to do this and mistakes can be made.
Chest infections are possible because the lungs don't expand enough during surgery. This is especially true if you don't have an excellent immune system or if you were a smoker or had a preexisting lung condition. Antibiotics can take care of these types of infections and usually the person recovers from the illness.
Peritonitis can happen in abdominal infections and this is more serious. It involves infection within the abdomen in the lining of the abdomen, in the outer part of the intestines and on all surfaces within the intestines. Abscesses can occur, depending on what kind of organism is involved. Peritonitis can involve a puncture of the abdominal viscus or hollow organs of the abdomen that allow bacteria to spill out into the abdomen. This can be a life threatening complication of the surgery and can necessitate having further surgeries to clear out organisms and abscesses, antibiotics to kill bacteria and support of the cardiopulmonary system.
Wound infections are also possible that occur on the skin or just inside the abdomen. These are less severe than peritonitis but can turn into peritonitis if the infection goes unchecked. Antibiotics are given at the time of surgery to prevent wound infections but they can occur anyway. A wound infection that is not particularly sensitive to pre-surgery antibiotics or post-surgical antibiotics is MRSA, which stands for methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. This is a common infection in hospitals that can result in death.
There are other infections that can occur, such as those to the bladder catheters, those to the IV catheters and those to drains that are used to drain the wound. The catheters are usually removed in such cases and antibiotics are given to stop the infection.
Blood clots can be caused by abdominal surgeries. If a person doesn't walk soon after surgery and is bed-bound, they can get a blood clot that forms in the deep veins of the leg-a condition called deep vein thrombosis. It can stay that way and need heat and blood thinners to get rid of the clot. In some cases, the clot can break off and can cause a pulmonary embolism, a severe blood clot to the lungs that interferes with oxygenation and can easily be fatal. Doctors can provide the patient with small amounts of heparin to stop clotting from occurring in the veins.
There can be excessive bleed during or after surgery. If the surgeon nicks a large vessel or doesn't control bleeding of smaller vessels, the bleeding can continue during or after the surgery is over with. This can result in low blood pressure, anemia, pain from displaced organs, and inflammation of the organs. It can result in death if left untreated. Doctors can treat blood loss by giving blood transfusions or by going back into the surgery and cauterizing or repairing the affected blood vessels. Drainage tubes can be put into the abdomen to drain out the blood and to monitor how much blood is being lost so that the right amount of blood can be replaced in a transfusion. If the blood continues from the drain, then surgery needs to be done to correct the bleeding.
Another complication of abdominal surgery is called an ileus. This is paralysis of the smooth muscle of the bowels and intestines so that nothing moves through the bowel. This occurs more commonly when the intestines are handled too much. The individual cannot eat or drink until the ileus resolves, usually within a few days.
Obstruction of the bowels can happen after the surgery when scar tissue or adhesions happen after the surgery is over with. Adhesions can cause the bowel to twist or kink so that nothing can pass through it. Surgery on the bowel can cause scar tissue that concentrically blocks the bowel at the level of the surgery. Often, a repeat surgery is necessary to correct the problem.
LEGAL HELPLINE: ☎ 855 804 7125
The author of the substantive medical writing on this website is Dr. Christine Traxler MD whose biography can be read here