When you visit the doctor, whether for a checkup or to treat a serious condition, you expect to get the information you need to make an informed decision about your health.

Going to the hospital can be stressful enough without having to worry that you will leave worse off than when you arrived. This is one of the main reasons why patient consent, also known as informed consent, is so important.

What Is Informed Consent, and Why Is It So Important?

Generally speaking, obtaining informed consent means that a patient who agrees to undergo a treatment or procedure does so only after being made aware of the associated benefits, risks, and alternative treatments. While all procedures involve risk, it is up to the patient to determine if the danger associated with a treatment is acceptable.

Typically, patients must sign forms indicating that they understand and consent to a procedure before it can proceed; however, “consent” and “informed consent” can be two very different animals.

Even when these forms are signed, if a patient was not given sufficient information regarding a procedure and an injury occurs, that patient may have a medical malpractice case on their hands. Likewise, if a doctor performs a different procedure without informing the patient, a lawsuit may follow.

The list of possible complications involved in any given procedure can be astoundingly large. However, many of those risks are unlikely, and a doctor may only need to inform patients of risks deemed relevant, probable, or important.

While the exact information a doctor must impart to their patient will vary with each case, a successful claim generally hinges on two aspects:

  • Cause in Fact: Did the lack of information directly lead the patient to choose the treatment that resulted in harm? Would they have made a different choice if fully informed?
  • Proximate Cause: Was the harm a foreseeable consequence of the inadequate information? Was the risk of harm something the doctor should have reasonably anticipated and disclosed?

To have a successful claim, the patient must also have suffered some form of harm due to the inadequate informed consent. This could be physical injury, financial loss, emotional distress, or a combination of these.

Informed Consent Isn’t Always Required

Informed consent may not be required in certain situations, such as emergencies when there is no time or feasible way to inform a patient of the risks involved. For example, if an unconscious patient is admitted to the emergency room with a life-threatening injury and doctors have only minutes to act, patients may not be able to sue for lack of informed consent if they are injured.

Fieger Law Will Fight for You

If you believe that you did not provide your informed consent for a procedure and suffered injuries as a result, you may be eligible for compensation through a medical malpractice claim.

At Fieger Law, we have an in-depth understanding of these cases and have helped numerous clients in your situation get the justice they deserve. When you need to understand your legal options, contact us immediately and speak with our Michigan medical malpractice attorneys.

Originally published February 15, 2017.