In non-emergency situations, medical professionals are required to obtain a mentally competent patient’s “informed consent” for a particular course of treatment. The idea of informed consent is to give patients a meaningful opportunity to be informed about their own health care decisions. If you or someone you know did not have a chance to provide informed consent, it is important to seek the help and guidance of a skilled Baltimore injury attorney. At Arfaa Law Group, we can analyze the facts of your case and determine whether you truly had a chance to make an informed decision about your health.
Under Maryland law, it is a physician’s duty to inform a patient of all potential benefits, risks and alternatives associated with the proposed procedure or course of treatment. This law is intended to give the patient all the information that would be needed to make an intelligent and informed decision about the treatment. It is important to note that a health care provider does not have to detail every possible risk associated with the treatment. Instead, the scope of disclosure is defined by what a hypothetical reasonable person would find material or important to the decision. A material risk is one which a physician knows or ought to know would be significant to a reasonable person in the patient’s position in deciding whether or not to submit to a particular medical treatment or procedure.
If a medical professional performs a procedure or treatment without first obtaining the patient’s informed consent, and the patient is injured as a result, the medical professional may be liable for medical malpractice. Medical malpractice claims are rooted in the theory of negligence, which is a failure to exercise reasonable care that causes harm to a patient. Causation is needed to establish negligence. The relevant question in an informed consent case is: Would the patient have consented to the surgery if he or she had been fully aware of the risks?
If you signed an informed consent form stating that the physician explained all of the risks associated with your medical treatment, it may still be possible to take legal action against that physician. We would need to assess the form and determine whether it was sufficient.
If you or someone close to you believes that a Maryland medical professional failed to obtain informed consent regarding a medical treatment or procedure, it is imperative to consult a skilled Baltimore medical malpractice lawyer. At Arfaa Law Group, we have helped many clients determine the validity of a potential claim. These cases can be quite complex, and having an experienced attorney on your side can make all the difference. To learn more about your legal rights and options, call 410-889-1850 or contact us online.
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