At all times, healthcare professionals and doctors have a duty to their patients to provide outstanding care and support. Sometimes, mistakes or negligence can lead to bad outcomes, but issues can arise even before you go under for surgery or similar operations. If you were not adequately informed about the risks or dangers of your medical procedures, you may have a claim for medical malpractice.
Failure to Inform Explained
Failure to inform, often called a failure to provide informed consent to a patient, arises if and when a doctor does not adequately explain aspects of a procedure to their patient. You can be considered uninformed if you don’t fully understand the proposed treatment’s risks, benefits, and alternatives. This lapse in communication can lead to the patient making uninformed decisions about their health, potentially resulting in harm or dissatisfaction with the treatment outcome.
Informed consent is a cornerstone of the doctor-patient relationship, as the principle of patient autonomy is held in high regard. It is an ethical and legal obligation of healthcare providers to ensure that patients are equipped with all the necessary information to make educated decisions regarding their healthcare. Patients are not empowered to participate in their treatment plans without this process.
In most cases, doctors and healthcare providers will discuss information about the procedure while providing a detailed form with the same information. A valid informed consent form must fulfill specific criteria. It should include a thorough disclosure of the potential risks associated with the treatment, the expected benefits of a non-problematic procedure, and any viable alternatives. This process must be conducted in a manner that the patient can understand, taking into account their ability to comprehend medical information.
Situations Where Failure to Inform Typically Occurs
Not Disclosing Potential Risks: Failing to inform patients about possible treatment complications or adverse effects.
Omitting Benefits: Without knowing the benefits of a procedure, a patient can not decide if the risk is worth the reward.
Minimizing or Overlooking Alternatives: Many procedures for non-life-threatening conditions have alternatives that patients have the right to consider.
Not Mentioning Post-treatment: A successful procedure doesn’t mean immediate improvements. Patients must understand the steps needed for recovery after the fact.
Overemphasize or Underemphasize Urgency: A delay in urgently needed medical attention can worsen conditions, and rushing a patient into a decision may also cause them to be uninformed.
Financial Discussions: Finances often play a big part in healthcare decisions, and doctors must discuss the financial burdens placed on a patient by a procedure.
Legal Implications of Failure to Inform
The failure to inform a patient adequately can escalate into a medical malpractice claim, especially when obvious and apparent harm or injuries occur due to those medical procedures. In these cases, the crux of the legal matter lies in proving that the healthcare provider did not meet the standard of informed consent, leading to the patient making an uninformed decision.
Criteria for Proving a Medical Malpractice Claim
Establishing a Doctor-Patient Relationship: Proof of a formal relationship between parties.
Determining a Standard of Care: You must set a baseline standard for what the healthcare provider should have said before you can claim they failed to meet this standard.
Breach of Standard of Care: You must then show that this standard of care was not met.
Directly Cause of Injury: You must prove that an injury exists and that the lack of information caused the injury to occur.
How Informed Consent Matters: Show that proper informed consent could have resulted in different decisions that did not lead to an injury.
Impact on Quality of Life: The injury should be shown to cause significant pain, suffering, and hardship.
Evidence: You must have adequate medical records and expert witness testimony to support your claims.
Patient Rights and Responsibilities in Informed Consent
Every patient has the fundamental right to be fully informed about their treatment options. Moreover, patients have the responsibility to actively engage in this process, ask questions, and seek clarification, ensuring they truly understand the information provided to make informed healthcare decisions. However, in certain circumstances, informed consent may not be strictly necessary. The most notable of these is in emergency situations where a patient cannot give consent, and immediate medical treatment is required to prevent serious harm or save a life. In such cases, healthcare providers are typically allowed to proceed with necessary treatments under the assumption of implied consent, prioritizing the patient’s well-being and safety.
If you feel that you were not properly informed of the risks of a procedure or any other aspect that could have influenced your decision, contact the personal injury attorneys at Probinsky & Cole today to discuss your options.
