Severed Ureter / Loss of Kidney / Failure to Diagnose Urine Leak

Indianapolis Attorneys for Pelvic Surgery Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice is serious. When a healthcare professional makes an error and fails to provide a duty of care to a patient, the results can be life-altering. Surgical procedures require great precision and attention to detail. Surgical errors can range from damage to organs to leaving instruments inside of patients after a surgery which can cause pain or infection. These types of errors often require follow up surgeries to correct the problems created when mistakes are made.

Surgeries that are performed in compact areas of the body can carry a greater risk for physician error. When organs, blood vessels, and nerves are closely situated to one another a slip of a surgical instrument such as a scalpel can create a serious injury to a patient.

The pelvis is an area that contains a dense network of blood vessels and nerves in addition to housing many of the body’s vital organs. Surgery to the lower back or pelvic area can carry a greater risk for complications due to the close proximity of the excretory and endocrine systems. Damage to a single organ can greatly diminish the effectiveness of any of these systems to perform.

The ureter is the tube that carries urine from the kidneys to the bladder so that waste can be excreted from the body. If the ureter is obliterated or clogged, then waste may not be able to exit the kidney. This will often cause hydronephrosis, or swelling of the kidney which will cause kidney stone-like pain. If these toxins are not expelled from the kidney, damage can be done to the organ which may require it to be removed. Additionally, urine from the ureter can collect in the abdomen rather than being eliminated from the body through the bladder. Collection of urine in the abdomen can cause pain and serious infection for the patient if not treated promptly.

Medical personnel are trained to recognize symptoms of illness so that a diagnosis can be made. Failure to recognize that an organ isn’t working properly puts a patient’s health at risk and can have devastating consequences. A severed ureter can cause a patient’s abdomen to become bloated. Other symptoms may also be present such as vomiting and severe pain.

Severed Ureter Medical Malpractice Claim

During a spinal fusion surgery in Indianapolis, Indiana, the patient’s left ureter was injured causing urine to leak through her abdominal cavity out through her surgical wound. The urine leak went undiagnosed for 2 1/2 months despite significant drainage and her wound opening up to the size of a softball. The patient underwent several painful procedures to try to save the ureter, but she ultimately lost her left kidney. Case tried to a jury resulting in a $1.3 million judgment.

Indiana Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Medical mistakes during surgery can not only put a patient’s health at risk but also can subject them to further surgeries in order to fix the problem that the physician created. If a healthcare professional fails to provide a duty of care to a patient under their supervision, an Indiana medical malpractice claim is a legal option that a person can seek to recover compensation for their damages.

If you or someone you care about was seriously injured due to a medical professional making a surgical error, such as severing a ureter or other organ, contact us. The Indianapolis, IN medical malpractice attorneys at CohenMalad, LLP have litigated cases originating from Muncie, Tipton, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Bloomington, Lafayette, and other areas across Indiana and can discuss your claim and inform you of your legal rights and options.