Bowel Surgery Claims

How do I make a bowel surgery claim

Bowel injuries suffered as a result of surgical error are fortunately relatively rare, but when they do occur, you may have the right to make a claim for the pain and suffering you have been caused.

Some patients are left requiring further surgical procedures such as colostomies, ileostomies and other stoma surgeries. Stomas require maintenance every day and lead to huge lifestyle changes particularly if they are irreversible.

Claims following complications after bowel surgery normally have to be commenced within three years of the date of the injury or date of knowledge of the injury. The first thing to do is to contact an expert law firm like Shoosmiths which specialises in this type of work. Medical negligence claims are complex and often demanding so it is important that your chosen law firm has both the expertise and established relationships with the appropriate medical experts whose evidence will be crucial to your claim.

Any NHS Trust or private hospital will have their own internal complaints process and a written complaint can be made. This may provide answers and lead to changes in process that prevent this happening to someone else.

Call us today for a free initial consultation. We can give you an objective assessment about where you stand and the options you should consider.

How long will my bowel surgery claim take

It is difficult to give a precise timescale in these cases. Some people may require additional surgery to correct problems or require a colostomy bag for life. It will be necessary to consider what future procedures and complications may arise before the full extent of the claim can be established.

We will need to obtain medical evidence from independent experts detailing how your treating doctors fell below the expected standard of care and exactly what injuries and damage you suffered as a consequence of that negligent care.

The way the other side responds to a claim for a bowel injury caused by surgery also affects timescales. An early admission can result in quicker resolution of the claim, however, this may not be possible if you have ongoing health problems as it may not be possible to accurately value your claim until your future prognosis becomes clear. If the claim is defended it will generally take longer to complete. Timescales should be provided by your legal team as your case progresses.

Whilst a claim can settle at any point in proceedings, and we actively encourage early settlement where possible, there is only one opportunity to settle the claim, so we have to ensure that all future possibilities are protected and covered in the final settlement.

On some occasions, when an early admission of liability is made, we are able to obtain an interim payment of damages to fund necessary support whilst the claim is ongoing.

If I have a bowel surgery case

Establishing whether you have a case following bowel surgery depends on establishing that a duty of care was owed to you, that the duty of care owned was breached by your treating hospital team (breach of duty) and that, as a consequence of that breach you have suffered injury or loss that otherwise would have been avoided (causation).

We must establish that you received sub-standard care and that as a consequence of that care you have suffered avoidable complications. Independent expert evidence is obtained to assist us with identifying whether the treating team were negligent. If an expert agrees you received sub-standard care and this has caused or contributed to your injury, you would have a good case for making a claim.

A bowel surgery claim may also be possible if you could not give informed consent because you were not given adequate information or warnings about the risks involved or had not been offered alternatives to surgery. In these circumstances we have to be able to demonstrate that had you been properly informed, you would not have gone ahead with the procedure. If surgery is performed in life saving circumstances, the consent process is slightly altered.

Once we have established breach of duty we then consider, on the balance of probabilities, whether your outcome would have been different with correct treatment. Independent expert evidence assists with this.

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