Gallbladder Surgery Malpractice

Probably the most common surgeries performed by general surgeons are hernia surgeries and gallbladder surgeries. And we've had many cases involving injuries during gallbladder surgeries. Gallbladder surgeries are performed because some patients develop stones in the bile that is necessary in order for us to digest fatty foods. Bile is produced in the liver and delivered to the gallbladder where it's stored until needed to digest the foods as they come down the intestinal tract. Some people tend to develop stones in their bile, and this leads to infection and blockages, and in those instances, it becomes necessary to remove the gallbladder. These injuries typically occur because the doctor instead of cutting the duct that connects to the gallbladder, they instead cut the common bile duct, which delivers the bile from the liver and eventually into the intestine, and when that common bile duct is cut, that is a serious problem and usually leads to a major surgery to reroute the entire biliary system. Typically, this occurs because a doctor does not convert to an open procedure. Sometimes when it's a highly infectious situation or an acute situation, structures become stuck to each other, it's not easy to see and so in those instances, it's important that the doctor open up the abdomen so that the doctor can see clearly before cutting. There's a golden rule in surgery, and that rule is you don't cut anything unless you're 100% sure of what you're cutting. So here it is vital that the doctor makes certain before cutting the duct to make sure that that duct leads into the gall bladder, and that the doctor is not cutting the common bile duct.