Informed consent is a cornerstone of ethical medical practices. It ensures patients understand the risks, benefits and alternatives of a proposed treatment or procedure before agreeing to it.
When a healthcare provider fails to get informed consent, they may be liable for medical malpractice. Here’s what you need to know.
What is informed consent?
The goal of informed consent is to ensure that a patient can make a well-informed decision about their healthcare. This includes:
- Disclosure: The healthcare provider must disclose all relevant information about the treatment, including the purpose, risks, benefits and potential side effects. They should also discuss any alternative treatments.
- Comprehension: The healthcare provider should explain the details in a way that the patient can easily grasp, taking into account factors such as the patient’s age, education level and language.
- Voluntariness: The patient’s decision to proceed with the treatment must be free from coercion or undue influence. The patient should have the opportunity to ask questions and take the time to consider their options before making a decision.
- Competence: The patient must be mentally competent to make the decision.
Informed consent and medical malpractice
Medical malpractice happens when a healthcare provider fails to provide the standard of care expected in their field, which results in harm to the patient. Failure to obtain proper consent can be considered a form of negligence.
For example, if a patient undergoes a procedure without being fully informed of the risks, and they suffer an injury as a result, they may have grounds for a medical malpractice claim. Imagine a surgeon fails to disclose the risk of nerve damage during an operation. If the patient suffers nerve damage that impacts their quality of life, the patient could argue that they would not have consented to the surgery, had they been aware of this risk.
It’s important to remember that informed consent does not mean that the patient must be informed of every possible risk, no matter how remote. The healthcare provider should focus on risks that are significant and relevant to the patient’s decision-making process. The standard is whether a reasonable person in the patient’s position would have considered the information important in making their decision.
If you believe that you did not receive adequate information before a medical procedure, and you suffered harm as a result, call the Law Offices of Tim Misny as soon as possible.
Talk to an Ohio medical malpractice attorney today
The Law Offices of Tim Misny can help you with your medical malpractice claim. If you or a loved one were injured due to someone else’s negligence or recklessness, I’ll Make Them Pay!® Call my office at (877) 944-4373 so that I can evaluate your case right away.