When you seek treatment from a doctor or other healthcare provider you likely have to sign a seemingly endless number of forms before the provider will move forward with your treatment. If you are like most people, you pay very little attention to what the forms actually say. Furthermore, few providers take the time to explain the forms in detail or to ask if you have any questions or concerns relating to the forms. This is unfortunate as one of the forms may be an “informed consent”. As a patient, “informed consent” is intended to protect you by ensuring that you fully understanding any medical treatment or procedure undertaken and, specifically, that you understand the risks involved. If a treatment provider fails to obtain your informed consent, and you are injured or become ill as a result of the procedure or treatment, the provider may be liable for those injuries.
Informed consent is a legal concept applied to medicine that is intended to ensure that individuals do not undergo treatment, procedures, or surgery without being fully informed so the patient can make a choice to accept or decline the proposed treatment, procedure, or surgery. For a patient to have given his or her informed consent, the law typically looks at whether the following elements were discussed with the patient prior to giving that consent:
- The nature of the decision/procedure
- Reasonable alternatives to the proposed intervention
- The relevant risks, benefits, and uncertainties related to each alternative
- Assessment of patient understanding
- The acceptance of the intervention by the patient
A patient’s consent to treatment of any kind is only considered valid, in the eyes of the law, if the patient gave his or her informed consent to the treatment. The extent to which a doctor is required to discuss the treatment with the patient for informed consent to be given is very fact specific; however, simply handing a patient a stack of forms and telling the patient to sign them is not likely to qualify as informed consent.
If you believe you are the victim of a medical error, and you also feel that you did not give your informed consent to the treatment that resulted in the medical error, you may have the basis for a medical malpractice lawsuit. Because each case is unique, it is imperative that you consult with the experienced attorneys at Slusky & Walt, P.C. as soon as possible to discuss your legal options.
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