Suffering from a severe health issue is already daunting enough without the added stress of realizing you weren’t fully informed about the risks involved. Without informed consent, patients cannot fully understand what may happen as a result of their medical procedure, and injured parties may be able to file a medical malpractice claim. If you’ve undergone a medical procedure without being adequately informed about the potential risks, you might have legal options to seek compensation.
The Concept of Informed Consent
Informed consent aims to keep individuals fully informed about the procedures and treatments they undergo. Ideally, no one should enter an operating room or undergo an experimental procedure without understanding every risk, complication, or side effect. There are three components to informed consent generally agreed upon:
Disclosure: Healthcare providers must provide all pertinent information about the proposed procedure, including potential risks, benefits, and alternatives.
Understanding: Patients must fully understand this information. Providers should communicate in a clear and understandable manner.
Voluntary Agreement: The patient’s decision to proceed with the treatment must be made freely, without coercion or undue influence. This consent is typically documented through a signed agreement that serves as a legal record.
Informed consent involves a comprehensive communication process between the patient and the healthcare provider. From an ethical standpoint, informed consent upholds the fundamental principle of patient autonomy. It respects the individual’s right to make decisions about their own body and treatment. Legally, it serves as a protective measure for both patients and healthcare providers. Healthcare providers’ failure to obtain informed consent can potentially lead to medical malpractice claims.
Consequences of Inadequate Informed Consent
When consent is not obtained correctly, the consequences for patients can be severe. Lack of adequate information can lead to unexpected complications, long-term health issues, and psychological distress. With so much on the line in many of these surgeries and treatments, the sad reality is that failing to obtain informed consent can present someone with two bad options: one where they don’t receive treatment and one where they are injured due to treatment.
Examples of Complications and Adverse Outcomes
Surgical Complications: Without proper consent, patients may be unaware of the risks associated with surgery, leading to unexpected complications. This can include issues such as infections, excessive bleeding, or even more severe outcomes like organ damage.
Adverse Medication Reactions: Patients must be informed about the potential side effects and prescription interactions. Without this information, they may experience severe allergic reactions or harmful interactions with other drugs they are taking.
Long-Term Health Effects: In some cases, patients may suffer from chronic conditions or long-term health issues they were unprepared for. This can include ongoing pain, infertility, or other debilitating conditions that cause lifelong problems.
Patients suffering from a lack of proper consent may have grounds for a medical malpractice/informed consent claim. These claims can be based on the healthcare provider’s failure to provide adequate information or failure to ensure the patient’s understanding.
As legal claims often involve proving that the lack of informed consent directly resulted in the patient’s injury or adverse outcome, documentation of the consent process becomes crucial evidence. Working with an experienced personal injury attorney gives you the best chance of obtaining and preserving the evidence you need to convince a court or jury of the malpractice of your healthcare provider.
Because consent issues arise when patients don’t have all the knowledge they need, it can also be difficult for injured parties to realize when informed consent applies to their situation. If you have any concerns or suspicions that your complications after receiving healthcare were due to a lack of informed consent, contact Probinsky & Cole today to learn how we can help.
