Going to the hospital for some form of treatment, especially a surgical procedure, can be enormously stressful. Yet, at that time you might have a number of documents thrust your direction to sign, many of which deal with the doctor and hospital’s liability. However, before providing you with treatment your medical professional should obtain your informed consent. If he or she fails to do, then you’ve been wronged, and that lack of informed consent may help form the basis of a medical malpractice claim if you’ve been harmed.
What is informed consent?
It’s a phrase that’s used a lot, but what, exactly, is informed consent? Informed consent is approval obtained from a patient only after being fully educated on the decision before him or her. This means that a medical professional should discuss with the patient the patient’s medical condition, the available course of treatment, and the risks and potential rewards of each course of treatment. The patient should also be informed of the risk of foregoing treatment altogether as well as their overall prognosis.
Going beyond informed consent
Far too often, doctors obtain informed consent but then go beyond the confines of that consent. They may try to perform some additional surgical operation that leaves you injured then claim that the extra surgical steps were necessary for whatever reason. These are claims that you have to fully vet and be prepared to counter when you’re considering a medical malpractice claim. Speaking with an outside expert in the medical field might help shed light on whether that errant step was actually necessary.
Stand up to negligent doctors, nurses, and hospitals
Doctors take an oath to do no harm to their patients, but the sad reality is that unsuspecting patients are hurt all the time by preventing acts and omissions on the part of medical personnel and hospitals. This is unacceptable. While you might be entitled to compensation for your damages, you should be prepared to go up against aggressive defense attorneys when dealing with these matters.
That’s why you need to know the law, understand the medical evidence, and be able to build an equally aggressive case that best positions you for success. If you’d like to learn more about how to do that, then it might be time for you to speak with an experienced medical malpractice attorney of your choosing.