Houston Bowel Perforation Lawyer

Trusted Malpractice Attorneys in Houston for Surgical Injuries

Understanding How Bowel Injuries Occur During Surgery

Surgical bowel injuries typically occur when a surgeon accidentally nicks, burns, or punctures the intestine during a procedure, often due to poor visibility or improper instrument handling. This can happen because of a failure to identify surrounding anatomy before making an incision.

A bowel perforation, a hole or tear in the wall of the intestine, allows its contents to leak into the abdominal cavity. While some perforations happen during open abdominal surgery where the surgeon has direct visual access, many occur during laparoscopic procedures. These minimally invasive surgeries use small incisions and a camera for guidance, which limits the surgeon’s field of view.

One particular risk involves a trocar injury, caused by the sharp, pointed instrument used to create the initial entry point into the abdomen during laparoscopic surgery. Because the first trocar is often inserted “blind,” meaning before the camera is in place, it can puncture the bowel or nearby blood vessels without the surgeon immediately realizing it. Surgeons must exercise extreme caution during this entry phase to avoid damaging important organs and tissues. A systematic review published in PubMed on bowel injury in gynecologic laparoscopy confirmed that these entry-related injuries remain a persistent source of surgical complications.

Not every perforation results from the same type of procedure. Some surgeries carry a higher risk of bowel injuries than others, including:

• Colonoscopies, where the instrument can puncture the colon wall while the doctor moves it or removes polyps
• Hysterectomies, particularly when performed laparoscopically near the intestines
• Hernia repairs, where adhesions from prior surgeries may obscure the bowel
• Gallbladder removal (cholecystectomy), one of the most common laparoscopic procedures performed today

If you experienced a bowel perforation during one of these procedures, a bowel perforation attorney in Houston can evaluate whether the injury resulted from a preventable surgical error.

Distinguishing Known Complications from Medical Malpractice

A bowel perforation becomes medical malpractice when the surgeon fails to meet the standard of care, either by causing the injury through negligence or by failing to recognize and treat the injury before it leads to a severe infection.

The standard of care, defined as the level of treatment that a reasonably competent medical professional would have provided under similar circumstances, is the benchmark for negligence. In Texas, this standard is determined by what other qualified surgeons in the same specialty would do when faced with the same situation. Not every bowel injury during surgery is automatically malpractice. Perforations can be a known risk of certain procedures, and patients are often warned about this in consent forms.

The distinction lies in *how* the injury happened and *what happened after*. The table below helps clarify the difference:

Known Complication	Potential Negligence
Perforation occurs despite proper technique	Perforation caused by improper instrument use or failure to identify anatomy
Injury is recognized during surgery and repaired immediately	Injury goes undetected; patient is discharged without diagnosis
Patient is monitored appropriately post-op	Warning signs like fever and pain are dismissed or ignored
Full informed consent was provided	Risks were not adequately explained before the procedure

This concept is closely tied to what medical professionals call “failure to rescue,” a provider’s inability to recognize and respond to a deteriorating patient in time to prevent a catastrophic outcome. An occult bowel injury, a perforation that is not immediately visible during surgery and presents symptoms hours or days later, is one of the most dangerous scenarios because the window for safe treatment narrows quickly.

A Houston bowel injury lawyer examines these details closely to determine whether the care you received crossed the line from an unfortunate complication to a breach of duty and professional liability.

The Critical Role of Running the Bowel

One of the most important steps a surgeon can take to prevent an undetected perforation is “running the bowel,” a technique involving the careful inspection of the entire length of the intestine, segment by segment, before closing the surgical site. The purpose is to identify any nicks, burns, or tears that may have occurred during the procedure. Running the bowel is a safety technique used to ensure no internal injuries remain unaddressed before a surgery concludes.

When a surgeon skips this step or performs it inadequately, a perforation can go unnoticed. If your medical records show no documentation that the bowel was inspected before closure, a bowel perforation malpractice lawyer may view that as evidence of a surgical error.

The Life-Threatening Risks of Sepsis and Peritonitis

Untreated bowel perforations allow bacteria to leak into the abdominal cavity, causing peritonitis and rapidly progressing to sepsis, a chain of events that can become fatal without emergency intervention.

Peritonitis, an inflammation of the peritoneum or the thin tissue lining the inside of the abdomen, occurs when intestinal contents spill through a perforation. This post-surgical infection causes the body to mount an intense inflammatory response. Patients often experience severe abdominal pain, fever, nausea, and a rigid abdomen. Left untreated, peritonitis can overwhelm the body’s defenses within hours.

As the infection spreads beyond the abdomen and enters the bloodstream, it can trigger sepsis, a life-threatening condition where the body’s response to infection begins damaging its own organs. Sepsis is an extreme immune response to an existing infection that can lead to tissue damage and organ failure. In its most severe form, septic shock, blood pressure drops dangerously low and organs begin to shut down. These hospital-acquired infections carry a mortality rate that increases with every hour treatment is delayed.

What makes these outcomes so devastating in a malpractice context is that they are almost always preventable. If a perforation is identified and repaired promptly, the risk of peritonitis and sepsis drops significantly. When a delay in diagnosis or treatment allows this chain of events to unfold, a medical malpractice lawyer can help. We determine whether the delay was a breach of care, which may lead to a wrongful death claim. Families may seek damages for these preventable outcomes.

Compensation Available for Bowel Perforation Patients

Patients who suffer surgical negligence in Texas may be entitled to economic damages for medical bills and lost wages, as well as non-economic damages for physical pain, mental anguish, and disfigurement.

A bowel perforation lawsuit can seek recovery for both the financial and personal toll of the injury. Economic damages cover the measurable costs directly tied to the harm, such as the actual money you lost or had to spend because of the injury. These damages are necessary for ensuring patients are not left with the financial burden of another surgeon’s error. Recoverable costs include:

• Past and future medical expenses, such as corrective surgeries, hospitalization, and ongoing care
• The cost of a colostomy, a surgical procedure that creates an opening (called a stoma) in the abdomen to reroute waste when the bowel cannot function normally, along with the supplies and maintenance it requires
• Lost wages and reduced earning capacity if the injury affects your ability to work

Non-economic damages address the less tangible but equally real consequences:

• Physical pain and suffering during recovery and beyond
• Mental anguish and emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life, particularly when a permanent colostomy or chronic digestive issues alter daily routines
• Disfigurement resulting from surgical scars or a stoma

Texas places caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases under the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Chapter 74. These caps limit what can be recovered for pain and suffering, but they do not restrict economic damages. A Houston Bowel Perforation Lawyer can explain how these caps may affect your specific situation and help you pursue the full recovery available under the law.

Evidence Required to Prove a Surgical Error Claim

Proving a malpractice claim requires a thorough analysis of medical records, operative reports, and witness statements, combined with expert testimony from surgeons who can confirm that the defendant breached the standard of care.

One of the first things a Houston surgical error attorney will do is obtain your complete medical chart. This includes not just the surgeon’s operative report, but also nursing notes, anesthesia logs, and post-operative monitoring records. Nursing notes often contain real-time observations that differ from or add context to the surgeon’s documentation during the process of evidence gathering.

Imaging results are also important. A finding of pneumoperitoneum, or “free air” visible on an X-ray or CT scan in the abdominal cavity, can be a strong indicator that a perforation occurred and was not addressed. The Texas Medical Board’s guidelines on patient information and medical records outline your right to access these records.

A medical malpractice attorney will also work with qualified expert testimony from specialized surgeons. Establishing negligence requires proving that a healthcare provider failed to act as a reasonably competent professional would have under similar circumstances. At Hastings Law Firm, we rely on our national network of surgeons and specialists who review the evidence and provide objective opinions on whether the standard of care was met. Our founder, Tommy Hastings, is an inductee of the American Board of Trial Advocates, which is an invitation-only group for elite trial attorneys. Key evidence to gather includes:

• Operative reports and surgical notes
• Pre- and post-operative imaging (X-rays, CT scans)
• Nursing notes and vital sign records
• Discharge summaries and follow-up visit documentation
• Pathology and lab results

Steps to Take After Suspecting a Surgical Error

Patients should immediately seek a second medical opinion at a different facility to stabilize their health, request a complete copy of their medical records, and contact a specialized medical malpractice attorney.

If you suspect a surgical error caused your bowel perforation, taking the right steps can protect your health and your legal rights:

1. Prioritize Your Health: Sepsis and peritonitis can escalate quickly. Seek a second medical opinion at a different facility to ensure the injury is properly diagnosed and treated. Stabilizing your condition is the most urgent step.
2. Request Records: Once your immediate medical needs are addressed, request a complete copy of your medical records from every provider involved in your care. These records become the foundation of any potential malpractice claim, and obtaining them early helps preserve important details.
3. Consult an Attorney: Before speaking to anyone from the hospital’s risk management or legal department, contact a Houston medical malpractice lawyer who handles surgical injury cases. Anything you say to hospital representatives can be used later to minimize your claim.

You should also be aware of the filing deadline, known as the statute of limitations. Under the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 74.251, most medical malpractice claims must be filed within two years from the occurrence of the breach or tort, or from the date the medical treatment that is the subject of the claim is completed. Texas law provides only narrow exceptions that may affect this deadline in limited circumstances, such as claims involving minors. Still, acting promptly gives your legal team the best opportunity to gather evidence and build a strong case.

Contact the Houston Surgical Error Attorneys at Hastings Law Firm Today for Help

Hastings Law Firm focuses exclusively on medical malpractice. Our team includes former defense attorneys and hospital nurses who understand how hospitals and insurance companies defend these claims. Every member of our team, from our attorneys and former defense counsel to our in-house nurse consultants, is dedicated to one purpose: holding negligent providers accountable for the harm they cause.

Our firm has secured millions of dollars for patients injured by preventable surgical errors, and we prepare every case as if it is going to trial. That preparation gives us the ability to negotiate from a position of strength and, when necessary, present your case to a jury.

If you or a loved one suffered a bowel perforation due to a suspected surgical error, our Houston Bowel Perforation Law Firm is ready to listen. The free case evaluation is confidential and carries no obligation. You pay no fees unless we recover compensation on your behalf.

Call us today or fill out our online form to tell us what happened. We handle the legal burden so you can focus on healing.