Bariatric Surgery
Michigan and Co-Counsel Nationwide
Bariatric Surgery Lawyer
For the dangerously overweight, bariatric surgery can be a lifesaver.
After years of diet and exercise have failed, it is viewed as the last, best hope for thousands. Yet, there are risks: with the demand for weight-loss surgeries soaring – 145,000 bariatric procedures were performed in 2004, whereas just 16,000 were performed in 1992 – many general surgeons are taking quick courses to perform these operations. Due to the risk that comes with any surgical procedure, the health problems present in many bariatric surgery patients, and the inexperience of many physicians in the field, 5% of patients have serious complications and there is a mortality rate as high as one in 200. Some of these complications can be attributed to medical mistakes made during and after the procedure.
What are the key legal issues?
Was there an error during bariatric surgery?
This theory is often difficult to prove, given the operative report is generally the only evidence of what happened during surgery. As a result, this theory of liability is less common than failure to react to a post-operative complication.
Was there an undue delay in diagnosing and/or repairing a post-operative leak or other complication?
Leaks are not malpractice. Failure to timely diagnose and treat them, however, can be malpractice.
Was the negligence the cause of death or other serious and permanent injury?
Because of the high cost to pursue a malpractice case, even a month or two of post-operative complications would not lead to a large enough recovery for us to become involved in a high risk malpractice case. Also, there are many known complications of bariatric surgery that are not the result of malpractice like diarrhea, vitamin deficiency, hair loss, dairy intolerance, and more.
At GorenLaw, we understand the pain and confusion that a victim of medical malpractice feels. We have had more than 30 years of success in handling serious injury cases, and we have obtained numerous recoveries exceeding one million dollars. Please contact our bariatric surgery complication attorney if you or a loved one has undergone bariatric surgery and has suffered because of a doctor’s mistake.