Minneapolis Bowel Injury Lawyer

Did a surgeon miss an injury to your bowel during a routine procedure in Minneapolis and let an undetected bowel perforation turn into sepsis while you thought you were healing?

Our Minneapolis bowel injury lawyer team, working within our broader Minneapolis medical malpractice practice, investigates the surgical error or missed diagnosis behind it and holds surgeons and hospitals accountable in Hennepin County District Court. We represent patients harmed by surgical and hospital errors across Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the surrounding Twin Cities suburbs. Founding attorney J. Ashwin Madia has led our trial team since 2009, recovering millions for Minnesota families through documented settlements and verdicts.

Call (612) 349-2729 or reach out online for a confidential case review of what your medical records show and what similar cases have recovered.

See more of our documented settlements and verdicts.

How Madia Law Prepares Your Malpractice Case for Trial

Madia Law’s trial team prepares every bowel injury malpractice case for trial, so hospitals cannot pressure our clients into settling for less than the case is worth. Watch attorney J. Ashwin Madia explain his approach to handling bowel injury malpractice cases.

Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Surgical Bowel Injury?

A routine hernia repair or hysterectomy can turn into a life-threatening infection if a nicked bowel goes unnoticed for even a day. A hospital, surgical center, or health system can incur vicarious liability even if the negligent doctor was an independent contractor, not a direct employee. If the facility held itself out as the provider of your care and you relied on the hospital system rather than choosing a specific doctor, the facility can be held liable for that provider’s negligence. Proving that negligence against a surgeon or the hospital standing in for one comes down to four core elements:

• Duty of Care: The healthcare provider, surgeon, or hospital owed you a professional duty.
• Breach of Standard of Care: The provider deviated from the accepted medical standard of care that a similarly trained physician would follow.
• Causation: That specific surgical error or missed diagnosis directly caused your bowel perforation or sepsis.
• Measurable Damages: You suffered economic or non-economic losses.

You do not have to figure out on your own whether your surgeon, the hospital, or both should answer for what happened. Call 612-349-2729 and walk us through your surgery, and we will help you sort out who is actually on the hook before you decide who to pursue.

Recoverable Damages in Minnesota Bowel Injury Malpractice Claims

Minnesota law places no cap on economic or non-economic damages a family can recover in a bowel injury malpractice case. Families recover:

• Medical bills and surgery costs, including emergency room visits, corrective revision procedures, and hospital stays.
• Future medical expenses and continuous care for a lasting digestive complication, including an ostomy, colostomy bag, or short bowel syndrome.
• Prescription medications and specialized medical supplies.
• Rehabilitative therapy and physical therapy.
• Lost wages and diminished future earning capacity if you cannot return to work.
• Pain and suffering, emotional distress, and mental anguish.
• Loss of enjoyment of life and loss of consortium for impacted spousal relationships.
• Disfigurement or permanent surgical scarring.

For one Minneapolis patient, compensation from a hospital’s mistake looked like this:

We bring the same refusal to accept a lowball number to every case where a hospital missed what should have been caught, including a bowel injury during what was supposed to be a routine procedure.

What Causes a Bowel Injury During Surgery in Minneapolis?

A bowel perforation, a tear or hole in the bowel wall, is one kind of surgical error, happening most often in abdominal and gynecological procedures where a surgeon mishandles an instrument or an energy device inside a space that leaves no room for mistakes.

Common procedures linked to a surgical bowel injury include:

• Abdominal surgery
• Hernia repair
• Digestive tract procedures
• Pelvic surgery
• Colonoscopy and colonoscopy preparation
• Sigmoidoscopy
• Laparoscopy
• Hysterectomy
• Cesarean section, including delayed C-section

Mishandled laparoscopic instruments and energy devices, ultrasonic forceps among them, cause a large share of these injuries during minimally invasive procedures.

Warning Signs of a Bowel Injury After Surgery

When one of those instruments causes a bowel perforation, the signs do not always show up on the operating table. Roughly 41% of bowel injuries in laparoscopic surgery are not recognized until after the operation, according to a systematic review of nearly 400 documented cases published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (2015).

A patient can leave the hospital before the perforation becomes apparent, then develop:

• Abdominal pain and cramping
• Nausea and vomiting
• Bloating
• Rectal bleeding
• A change in bowel habits
• Fever and chills
• General fatigue

See a doctor immediately if these signs appear after surgery. Early treatment protects your health and preserves the record your claim depends on, and that record only matters if you file before Minnesota’s deadline passes.

Already dealing with an infection or a second surgery because your bowel injury went undetected? Call (612) 349-2729 to talk through what happened with our team.

How Long Do You Have to File a Bowel Injury Claim in Minnesota?

A bowel injury malpractice claim must be filed within four years from the date of the surgical error, not the date you discover your injury (Minn. Stat. § 541.076). Miss that deadline, and your case ends regardless of how strong the evidence is.

Minnesota also requires an expert-review affidavit before your case can proceed, a separate requirement with its own strict deadlines (Minn. Stat. § 145.682).

Our guide to Minnesota’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice covers additional exceptions that may apply to your case, and our FAQ on how to file a medical malpractice claim walks through the filing process in full.

Meeting that deadline and clearing Minnesota’s expert-review requirement is the job of the team you will actually work with.

Minneapolis Bowel Injury FAQs

Can a Bowel Injury Happen Without Malpractice?

Yes, a bowel injury can happen without malpractice. Some patients carry an undiagnosed bowel obstruction or colon cancer that perforates during surgery even when a surgeon follows every precaution. Malpractice applies only when a surgeon’s deviation from the standard of care, not an unavoidable complication, causes the injury.

Can I Still Have a Case if the Hospital Calls My Injury a Known Risk?

Yes, you can still have a case even if the hospital calls your injury a known risk. Your surgeon has a duty to warn you about risks and secure informed consent before the procedure. An unexplained risk, or one you never agreed to, still supports a claim.

What Is the Difference Between a Bowel Perforation and a Bowel Obstruction?

A bowel perforation is a tear in the bowel wall, most often caused by a surgical instrument during the procedure. A bowel obstruction is a blockage that stops contents from passing through the bowel and can exist undiagnosed before surgery. A surgeon can face liability for the missed diagnosis, the perforation, or both.

What Should I Do Before I Call a Bowel Injury Attorney?

Request your complete surgical and post-operative records before your first call. Write down a timeline of your symptoms after surgery, including when you first reported pain, nausea, or fever to a provider. Bring both records to your consultation for immediate review by our attorneys.

What Is My Bowel Injury Case Worth?

Your bowel injury case is worth an amount specific to your injury’s severity, the surgeries and treatment your recovery required, and how strong the evidence against the surgeon and hospital is. A confidential case review with our Minneapolis medical malpractice lawyers is the only way to get a clearer picture, and we encourage you to get a second opinion no matter who you call first.

Can I File a Wrongful Death Claim If a Bowel Injury Led to Sepsis or Death?

Yes, you can file a wrongful death claim if an undetected bowel injury led to sepsis, peritonitis, or death. Minnesota gives surviving family members three years from the date of death to file, but never longer than four years from the date of the malpractice itself. Our wrongful death attorneys in Minneapolis handle these claims alongside your family’s malpractice case.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Bowel Injury Lawyer?

Hiring a bowel injury lawyer costs nothing upfront. We work on a contingency fee, so you owe no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. We confirm the exact fee arrangement during your case review, before you commit to anything.

Call a Minneapolis Bowel Injury Lawyer Today

Minnesota’s four-year deadline does not pause while you decide whether to call.

Call (612) 349-2729 or fill out the form for a confidential case review of your bowel injury case. Our staff talks with you first, and if we can potentially help, we set up a call with an attorney to discuss what happened.

At Madia Law LLC, our medical malpractice team handles surgical and hospital negligence cases across the Twin Cities, including injuries that happen at Hennepin County Medical Center, Abbott Northwestern Hospital, and the University of Minnesota Medical Center. We serve families across Minnesota, including Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Edina.

We’re trial lawyers. Our core competency, above everything else, is trying cases to juries. And we specialize in beating giants.

Past results do not guarantee any future outcome, and every case is different.

Our Minneapolis Law Office