$1,010,000 Jury Verdict for Bowel Injury During Gall Bladder Surgery
William Crutchlow, Esq. of Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow, LLP, with offices in Edison, Toms River and Red Bank, New Jersey, recently secured a jury verdict for a man in his late fifties who suffered a bowel injury during a laparoscopic gall bladder removal surgery. The injury was not recognized at the time of surgery which permitted bacteria laden intestinal content to leak into the patient’s abdominal cavity. Massive infection followed causing the patient to undergo major, emergency surgery, to remain in the hospital for over a month, to be on a respirator for several weeks, to develop lung failure and ARDS, to suffer from critically low blood pressures and oxygen levels in his blood and, ultimately, to develop brain damage. Our client was left with permanent damage to the muscles in his abdominal wall, recurrent incisional abdominal hernias, short term memory deficits and cognitive deficits. He has been disabled and unable to work since his injuries occurred. This case was tried to a jury in Middlesex County in January and early February 2016. Stewart v Swaminathan, MID-L-8948-11.