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As Americans become both increasingly health and weight conscious, the number of gastric bypass surgeries performed in the United States has skyrocketed. Unfortunately, so has the number of resulting injuries and death, with recent news reports noting that patients who undergo the stomach surgery face a "considerably higher risk" than previously reported. The number of these operations, also known as bariatric surgeries, has burgeoned in recent years and was expected to reach 170,000 for 2005. Yet while the popularity of the weight-loss operation rises, so does the number of complications.
According to study results reported in October 2005 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 2 percent – or one in every 50 – gastric bypass surgery patients died within 30 days of their operations. Almost 5 percent, or one in 20, died within a year. Complications range from infection, incisional hernia, ulcers, blood clots in the lungs and internal leaking or peritonitis. A more recent study, reported in Archives of Surgery in November 2006, noted that post-surgical adverse events occurred even more in older patients, with problems noted in almost one in three patients 65 and older. With younger patients the trate was only 8 percent. (Read the article.) If you or a loved one suffered injury or death as a result of gastric bypass surgery, you may want to contact a gastric bypass lawyer. The 2005 study out of the University of Washington in Seattle found that those most at risk were men, people older than 65 and patients who used surgeons who had less expereince performing the stomach surgeries. According to some reports, one cause of injuries is inexperienced doctors rushing into the lucrative field to perform the increasingly popular surgery, which typically costs between $25,000 and $30,000. Kline & Specter, P.C., has and is litigating a number of claims involving injury and death as a result of gastric bypass surgery. Several have already resulted in significant monetary settlements, the amounts of which remain confidential. Contact a gastric bypass lawyer for a free evaluation of your case. Because of our lawyers' experience and expertise Kline & Specter is well-suited to litigate gastric bypass cases. Our success in medical malpractice lawsuits and other litigation is unsurpassed. (See Medical Malpractice, Notable Cases and Major Victories.) One of our cases involving a woman who died following bariatric surgery was featured in a television news broadcast (see Suarez) while another resulted in a substantial settlement. Both cases involved doctors’ failure to diagnose a leak from the operative sites in a timely manner, an error that led to peritonitis, sepsis and death. Our firm is handling several other ongoing cases involving injuries resulting from gastric bypass surgery. A number of the firm’s gastric bypass cases have been handled by a team consisting of partner Tom Kline, Andrew Youman, an attorney who has participated in some of the firm’s biggest cases, and Gary Zakeosian, a lawyer who is also an experienced doctor. Kline & Specter has some 30 highly skilled attorneys (see Lawyer Profiles), including several lawyers who are also physicians. (See the Doctor/Lawyer Team.)
Contact a gastric bypass surgery attorney.  Gastric Bypass/Bariatric Surgery News & Resources --------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: Kline & Specter, P.C. only provides legal advice after having entered into an attorney client relationship, which our website specifically does not create. It is imperative that any action taken be done on advice of counsel. Because every case is different, the description of awards and cases previously handled do not guarantee a similar outcome in current or future cases. The firm practices law in New Jersey as Kline & Specter. Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers in America and other organizations that rate attorneys are not designations that have been approved by the State Supreme Courts or the American Bar Association. |Home|
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