In terms of medical treatment, it’s a fair statement to say that every patient has the right to be properly informed about any type of care they are to receive, so that they are able to make appropriate, well thought out decisions as to their own healthcare.  This is basically known as informed consent, and when it is absent the result may be medical malpractice.

Informed consent means that any doctor or medical professional who is going to perform a procedure or treatment on you has to first give you all the relevant information regarding such treatment, allowing you ample time to decide whether or not you agree to it.  Although it can be verbal, consent is typically given in writing, and will usually contain the following information:

• Who the doctor is that is going to be treating you
• The physician’s qualifications
• The medical condition you currently suffer from
• The reason why the treatment or procedure is being recommended
• Any and all risks involved
• The alternatives available to the patient, their risks and whether non-treatment is also an option
• How successful the treatment or procedure is expected to be
• Estimated time of recovery
• Costs associated with the procedure, and if it is likely to be covered by health insurance

Of course, there are certain circumstances, such as an emergency situation or when a patient is unconscious, when informed consent is not possible.  In these situations, physicians are expected to act in the best interest of the patient and within the appropriate standard of care.  They cannot, however, decide to perform additional procedures that aren’t medically necessary, or assume that a patient would have elected to do so had they been conscious at the time or given the ability to make an informed decision.

Lack of informed consent is not always cut and dry and can be difficult to prove.  In order to be successful in a medical malpractice case of this nature, you must be able to prove that an injury you suffered was as a direct result of not receiving appropriate informed consent, and that had you been properly informed you wouldn’t have consented.

The best chance for a successful outcome in an informed consent malpractice case is to first discuss the details of your situation with an experienced medical attorney.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 21st, 2009 at 7:30 pm and is filed under Medical Malpractice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.