Gastric Bypass Malpractice

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of people getting gastric bypass surgery for the purpose of losing weight. Like all surgeries, however, gastric bypass surgery carries huge risks for a patient. Surgeons must abide by a specific standard of care when operating on a patient, whether that operation is elective or not. If you were harmed due to gastric bypass surgery, an experienced Ocala medical malpractice attorney at the Dean Law Firm can evaluate your claims and potentially help you pursue damages.

Gastric bypass surgery involves alterations to how a patient's stomach and small intestine process food. A surgeon will cut the stomach to build a smaller place within which food will be deposited. Your stomach will be smaller, which means you won't be able to eat as much. Also, the food won't enter certain parts of the organs that normally absorb food, and so your body won't receive all the calories from the food eaten. After a gastric bypass, you may experience weight loss. However, sometimes gastric bypass surgery is unsuccessful and the weight loss is neither immediate nor significant.

If you've had gastric bypass surgery and suspect malpractice, you should discuss what happened with the doctor. Sometimes a procedure just doesn't achieve the desired results for a particular patient, while in other cases, a patient's failure to follow directions can result in serious complications such as a pulmonary embolism.

Though some of the varied results that can occur following these procedures are normal, gastric bypass malpractice does occur in Florida and elsewhere. An experienced lawyer can provide your medical records to an expert to determine whether it is appropriate to pursue a malpractice claim. Sometimes there can be gastric bypass malpractice when a doctor recommends that you get gastric bypass surgery, even though your have preexisting medical conditions that make it inadvisable. For example, if you have lung disease or heart disease, you may not be a good candidate for gastric bypass surgery. Doctors should thoroughly investigate your health history to make sure it's appropriate to try gastric bypass.

Another problem that could occur is an error during surgery. If there is improper reconstruction of your stomach during the surgery, food and liquid may leak into your abdomen, and the result may be serious infections. These infections may even be fatal. Sometimes leakage is not the fault of a surgeon following the appropriate professional standard, but sometimes it is. Moreover, a surgeon's failure to diagnose or treat the problem once it shows up — sometimes in the form of abdominal pain or fever — may be actionable malpractice.

Problems that may be the result of malpractice include pulmonary embolisms, kidney stones, post-surgery gallstones, breathing difficulties, and blood clotting difficulties. In some cases, professional negligence causes or contributes to these problems, and in that case, you may be able to recover damages through a medical malpractice lawsuit.

A healthcare provider that performs gastric bypass inappropriately or doesn't diagnose or treat complications when they arise in connection with a gastric bypass may be held accountable for medical malpractice. To show medical malpractice, you would need to prove by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) the health care provider owed you a professional duty of care, (2) breach of the professional duty, (3) causation, and (4) damages. The professional duty of care exists when there is a doctor-patient relationship. However, it may be necessary to retain a knowledgeable, credible expert to provide an opinion on what the professional standard of care was and whether it was breached.

At the Dean Law Firm, our aggressive trial lawyers know that it can be painful to experience the problems associated with gastric bypass malpractice, or to lose a loved one due to someone else’s misconduct. It may be possible to recover damages from a professionally negligent physician or other healthcare provider in Ocala, and it's critical to consult an attorney about your situation. We represent patients who have suffered as a result of medical negligence all throughout Florida, including those in The Villages, Crystal River, and Lake, Citrus, Sumter, Levy, and Marion Counties. Contact us at 352-387-8700 or through our online form.