Plaintiff had bile duct injured during operation, suffered permanent scarring – $700,000 Settlement

Plaintiff, age 50 and disabled, underwent a laparoscopic cholecys­tectomy. During the pro­cedure, the defendant surgeon transected her common bile duct and right common hepatic duct. Plaintiff’s injury was not recognized until 10 days post-op­eratively as she continued to recover in the hospital with complaints of nausea and vomiting, tachycardia and eventu­ally abdominal distention. Defendant asserted that this was a recognized com­plication that may occur in the absence of negligence, and that her underlying lupus had contributed to recognizing her post-operative symptoms were caused by her common bile duct transection. Plain­tiff required a Roux-en-Y procedure to repair her biliary injuries. Plaintiff had an excellent recovery without cholangi­tis, stricture or other sequelae, but ex­perienced tightness and pain in the area of her permanent abdominal scarring. Plaintiff alleged that the defendant sur­geon failed to use a proper surgical tech­nique to identify the anatomy (critical view of safety), failed to utilize intraoper­ative cholangiography, and was negligent in failing to recognize the injury until ap­proximately 10 days postoperatively. The case resolved approximately one week before trial.

[16-T-094]

Type of action: Medical malpractice
Injuries alleged: Common bile duct injury from laparoscopic cholecystectomy
Name of case: Doe v. Roe
Date resolved: March 24, 2016
Special damages: Approximately $258,000 in medical expenses
Verdict or settlement: Settlement
Amount: $700,000.00
Attorney for plaintiff: Jonathan L. Thornton, Norfolk