What Is Informed Consent In Medical Malpractice?
When we seek medical attention for an injury, illness, or medical condition, we are in a vulnerable position, forced to trust the physician responsible for our treatment to fulfill their duty to provide appropriate, thorough care. One frequently misunderstood aspect of medical malpractice concerns informed consent. What is informed consent, and what happens when a patient does not give informed consent before receiving treatment?
An experienced medical malpractice attorney in Atlanta, Georgia, is ready to determine how informed consent applies in your medical malpractice case.
Understanding Informed Consent
Medical journals describe informed consent in the following way:
“Informed consent is voluntary authorisation by a competent patient based on the knowledge necessary to make an appropriate choice. Consent is a process by which a patient concurs with his/her doctor to undergo medical procedures, based upon an adequate disclosure of facts on the diagnosis, proposed procedure, and risks…”
In other words, informed consent is a matter of ethics as well as law, meant to ensure that patients fully understand a proposed treatment or procedure, including all possible outcomes and consequences, before they give consent to undergo the recommended treatment.
Why Is Failure to Obtain Informed Consent Medical Malpractice?
For most people, the words “medical malpractice claim” bring to mind negative surgical outcomes, misdiagnosis, and medication mistakes, but failure to obtain informed consent is not an uncommon basis for a medical malpractice claim in Atlanta and elsewhere. All patients have autonomy, or the fundamental right to make informed decisions about their own bodies. A patient cannot make an informed decision about their care if they are not given all the facts, or if a medical provider fails to ensure that the patient understands the facts, including the possible side effects, all risks associated with the treatment, and the expected benefits.
A doctor or other medical provider must obtain a patient’s signature on consent forms before treating a patient, but a signature alone is not enough. The physician must also ensure that the patient understands the information imparted to them. Lack of informed consent occurs when a doctor breaches this aspect of their duty of care, resulting in medical malpractice.
What Is “Duty of Care” In Medical Malpractice Claims, Including for Lack of Informed Consent?
Most personal injury claims center on the understanding that we all owe a general duty of care to those around us, requiring reasonable actions to avoid causing harm. A physician has a different duty of care when they treat a patient. The law requires a medical provider to treat their patient in the manner prescribed as appropriate by the medical community. Proving medical malpractice occurred requires evidence demonstrating the following:
- A doctor-patient relationship was in place at the time the malpractice occurred
- The provider owed a duty of care to the patient
- They breached their duty of care by failing to treat the patient at the level of care established as standard by the medical community
- The breach of duty directly caused harm to the patient
- The patient suffered damages from the injury, worsened medical condition, or shortened life expectancy
Damages often include economic impacts as well as physical pain and suffering.
Not all adverse outcomes from medical procedures constitute medical malpractice, but when the circumstances meet the above standards, it is malpractice, including when a doctor fails to obtain informed consent as required by the medical community’s accepted standard of care.
How Can an Atlanta Medical Malpractice Attorney Help?
Proving a lack of informed consent occurred in your case requires access to both legal and medical knowledge and resources. Call or contact online the Atlanta medical malpractice law firm of Piasta Walker Hagenbush, LLC today to learn more about your right to informed consent and your legal options when a medical provider violates this right.