Gallbladder Surgery Solicitors

Gallbladder surgery is usually carried out if you have painful gallstones.

• Gallstones can cause symptoms such as:
• Sudden and intense tummy pain
• Feeling and being sick
• Yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes (jaundice)

There are 2 main ways of removing a gallbladder:

• Laparoscopic (keyhole) cholecystectomy – several small cuts (incisions) are made in your tummy (abdomen) and fine surgical instruments are used to find and remove your gallbladder
• Open cholecystectomy – a single larger incision is made in your tummy to access and remove your gallbladder

Keyhole surgery is used most often because you can leave hospital sooner, recover faster and are left with smaller scars than with an open procedure. Both techniques are performed under general anaesthetic (whilst you’re asleep).

Claims are paid by NHS Resolution, a government scheme funded by NHS Trusts, using the organisation's insurance or indemnity scheme.

The compensation amount depends on the severity of harm and its impact. It includes general damages for pain and suffering and special damages for financial losses.

Virtually all claims are settled through negotiation. Very few claims ever go to Court.

Bile is produced in your liver and collects in the gall bladder. There is a complex system of ducts which moves bile from the liver and into the gall bladder and out of the gall bladder and into your intestines. To remove your gallbladder the surgeon has to carefully separate it from the liver. During this procedure, the cystic duct and cystic artery must be clipped so that the gall bladder can be removed without any bile leaking into the abdomen. Very occasionally the surgeon does not manage to properly locate your cystic duct an cystic artery and makes a cut or burn to your common bile duct or common hepatic duct.

Making a gallbladder surgery negligence claim may feel daunting, but at Lime Solicitors, we guide you through the process at all stages so that you have nothing to worry about. The process normally goes as follows: We will take details of your case so that our expert solicitors can advise you whether you might have a claim. Our expert team will then gather evidence to support your claim. They will obtain all your medical records and take any necessary witness statements. They will then instruct medical experts to consider whether you received negligent treatment and whether that treatment has caused you harm. Once we have supportive medical evidence, we send a full letter of claim notifying the relevant NHS Trust or private healthcare provider. They will then commence their own investigations. Very often cases can then be valued and settled through negotiation. We always try to gate you a fair settlement without having to start court proceedings. If a settlement cannot be reached, we will start court proceedings and guide you all the way through. Our experienced solicitors present your case thoroughly and instruct Barristers so that you have the best possible chance of winning your claim and getting appropriate compensation.

The length of time required to resolve a gallbladder surgery negligence claim varies depending on the complexity of the case and whether the defendant NHS Trust admits liability and wants to settle. More straightforward cases can take between 2 to 3 years. More complex claims may take several years. The length of time is determined normally by how seriously injured you are and how long you take to recover, how quickly we can get hold of medical evidence and experts reports, whether the defendant admits liability for your claim and whether we need Court Proceedings.