Lawsuit for Wrongful Hysterectomy

Each year in the United States alone, doctors perform well over a half a million procedures on women known as hysterectomies. Regrettably, there are severe complications that can arise from these procedures, and many times this can lead to a lawsuit for wrongful hysterectomy. Because this procedure is used to treat a host of ailments, there are several kinds of hysterectomies, but all of them involve the removal of the uterus.

The list of complications runs the gamut from problems with the abdominal wall to loss of sense of femininity. Other severe consequences include ureter damage, loss of libido and healthy sex life, bladder problems, fatigue and weight gain. Because there are so many other means to treat some of the problems a hysterectomy is meant to fix, many women may be left wondering if all the recovery and side effects were worth the procedure in the first place.

The causes of these conditions may or may not be due to negligence. A blind incision is made when the surgeon’s scalpel opens the abdomen without knowing what organs lie underneath. Injury to the bladder is most often a consequence of a blind incision, and this leads to incontinence in a significant percentage of women.

Damages for unnecessary surgeries are often levied against a surgeon who is negligent in the hysterectomy. Even worse is the removal of a healthy uterus, and in medical malpractice jargon, that is considered reckless. A lawsuit for wrongful hysterectomy can differ in each case, depending on both how much of the reproductive organ is removed and the exact damages incurred by the woman. “Damages,” in this situation, can include but may not be limited to: pain and suffering, lost wages, both present and future, and medical care, treatment and rehabilitation costs. Other damages may be punitive, and future corrective treatments must be taken into consideration. When a healthy uterus is removed, a doctor can be liable for, again, in malpractice jargon, is known as “breach of duty to care.” These cases can cost physicians and insurers millions of dollars.

Many times defense attorneys argue that these risks come with the territory, but for every lawsuit for wrongful hysterectomy that comes through a courtroom, only a judge and jury can make that ultimate decision.