A Baltimore City jury in a medical malpractice case awarded more than $670,000 to a man after his colon was perforated during a colonoscopy, resulting in emergency surgery. The man underwent a colonoscopy at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, during which the doctor punctured the colon in several places. The man was subsequently taken into an operating room at Sinai, where part of his colon was removed. The man still suffers pain and limited mobility as a result of the surgery, and swelling and fatigue caused by short bowel syndrome.
As an experienced Baltimore, Maryland medical malpractice lawyer, I have often been asked to take colonoscopy perforation cases. Usually, if there is a single perforation and the perforation was recognized during or right after the colonoscopy, there is not a strong case. However, if there are multiple perforation or if there was a substantial delay in the diagnosis of the perforation, and either of those caused major problems or even death, it may be a case. Every case must be evaluated on an individual basis after the facts are reviewed. As I have mentioned before in other posts, these injuries frequently cause major complications because the bowel has so much bacteria in it. To see some of the cases I have handled, click here.