Gastric Bypass Gone Bad

Yesterday's case is done and will be delivered today on my way to my next case today -- a Medical Malpractice, or Med Mal, for short.

These cases are challenging for personal injury attorneys who must have the deep pockets to fight and the mojo to win such a case. Not only are Med Mal cases expensive to take on, they also require specific witnesses, including other medical professionals, willing to rat on one of their own. So when an attorney sends me out on a Med Mal,I know they know they're onto something.

And this one sounds good to me. The client is a man who had a gastric bypass for weight loss. It wasn't until 3 months after his surgery and lots of complications that it was determined a plastic tube was left inside him after the surgery. Evidently no one on the surgical team noticed it.

This is the fourth case I've done with medical equipment or tools left in clients abdominal cavity post surgery. This one seems like what attorneys might call a Slam Dunk because the man I am going to meet has x-rays showing the plastic tube still in him. I will get his story, his x-rays, records, take some pictures and deliver my case notes to the lawyer.

Gastric bypass surgery works for some. Not for others. There are enough risks inherent in the surgery to warrant caution. When you proceed, you're desperate and expect to finally succeed at weight loss. What you don't expect, is for a doctor to lose a piece of medical equipment inside you.

Such a simple thing, you would think, to clean up your work space before leaving.