The plaintiff presented to a local area hospital with 10/10 abdominal pain and pain out of
proportion to exam. After waiting several hours, he left before being examined. After leaving,
he began vomiting and returned to the emergency department. An abdominal CT scan was
ordered, which demonstrated the presence of fluid, but no evidence of obstruction or ischemia. The plaintiff was given narcotic pain medications, which did not relieve his pain. He was admitted to the hospital and coded approximately 24 hours later. An abdominal CT scan was repeated, which now showed significantly necrotic bowel from an obstruction. He was immediately taken to the operating room, where 75 cm of necrotic small bowel was removed. Plaintiff was hospitalized post-operatively for three weeks, and now suffers from short gut syndrome. While he has bowel control, he cannot maintain control for long periods of time and needs to be close to a restroom. The plaintiff alleged that a delay in surgery led to a more extensive surgical resection of his bowel.
The plaintiff was represented by Bradley Z. Schulman of Napleton & Partners.