Doctrine of Informed Consent
Doctors and other medical professionals have a professional obligation to the serve the best interests of their patients’ health. What gets done to your body, and who does, is ultimately up to you (conceding that you are an adult of sound mental state). To make sure that patients are given the proper amount of information so as to make an informed decision about what procedures and treatments they will allow, the law uses the doctrine of informed consent as a rubric.
What It Is
The doctrine of informed consent is the guidelines that determine what a doctor must tell and patient and when. Informed consent means that a patient must have a reasonable knowledge of the procedure to be performed as well as some understanding of the nature of the risks involved. Physicians must inform patients about:
- Diagnosis
- Nature of proposed treatment
- Medically recognized alternative measures
- Consequences of the patient’s decisions to decline or refuse treatment
Emergency Situations
The law recognizes that medical responders must treat emergency situations in a special way because loss of life is more pressing. In an emergency, it is assumed that the patient gives consent for treatment that for the emergency injury.
If you or someone you know has been injured further by a medical professional’s intervention that was against your consent or when you were not fully informed, you have a right to hold them accountable.
Speak with an Appleton Emergency Consent Lawyer
Contact Appleton emergency consent lawyers of Habush, Habush, & Rottier at 800.472.9334 for a free initial consultation. We are a firm that cares and will take care of you.