Two main complications which often are the result of a doctor’s mistake are severed ureters and perforated bowels. Often, the main medical mistake and resulting damage is not because the surgeon cut the ureter or punctured the bowel, but that he or she failed to realize an incision or puncture was made. In a laparoscopic procedure in the operating room, if the doctor closes the patient up without dealing with a problem which was created by the surgery, that’s potentially a major error. In some cases, such as one that led to a $9 million verdict, a doctor panicked after severing the ureter and improperly "corrected" the problem. Typically, the victim of this particular kind of medical malpractice is female.
This increased probability of injury to ladies is significant because many medical malpractice caps discriminate against women. In fact, caps on non-economic damages disproportionally impact women. Often women have a relatively small amount of economic loss (or sustain losses that are given a low economic value, such as child rearing and housekeeping), while sustaining greater non-economic damages. Happily, this adding insult to injury, obtained in other states by the insurance lobby, does not apply in North Carolina.
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