Your Lack of Informed Consent Lawyer Can Secure Just Restitution
If a doctor performs a procedure that you as a patient had not authorized him or her to perform, or if the treatment’s scope goes beyond what you gave permission for, the medical professionals involved may be held liable for acting with a lack of informed consent. It is a form of medical malpractice.
If you were not provided with the required information about your treatment, and were injured by that procedure, Paul M. da Costa and his team from Sarno da Costa D’Aniello Maceri LLC can help you secure damages for your additional expenses, pain and suffering, and other losses. Please contact Paul M. da Costa at 973-274-5200 or PdaCosta@sarnolawfirm.com to set up a meeting at one of our three New Jersey offices.
What Is Informed Consent?
Informed consent before a medical treatment includes information about potential risks, outcomes, alternatives to the procedure, and what will happen if you do not receive the treatment. The doctor is not obligated to disclose every remote risk of an operation but must inform the patient of a risk if a reasonable colleague would do so. When a case of lack of informed consent comes to trial, other doctors typically testify whether or not the responsible party’s conduct was reasonable under the circumstances.
Your attorney can gather evidence to support your claim of lack of informed consent and successfully secure damages.
You generally sign a consent form when you agree to a procedure such as surgery. However, if your doctor did not explain the risks of the procedure to you in plain language, it may be deemed that you have not given informed consent, even if you have signed the form.
When Can a Doctor Act Without Consent?
There are two kinds of consent: express and implied. Express consent means that the patient agrees to the procedure, either in writing or verbally. Undocumented, or implied, consent is the understanding that your doctor will treat potentially life-threatening complications that may arise during the procedure, such as heavy bleeding.
Doctors may act without consent in emergency situations, such as to save a life or relieve a patient’s suffering, and in the case of compulsory tests. Some patients, including children and people with mental disabilities, are legally unable to give consent to medical treatment. A parent or guardian generally provides consent on behalf of such patients, but a doctor may provide treatment without prior consent in the event of an emergency.
How Your Medical Malpractice Attorney Can Help
A lack of informed consent claim must prove that the patient was not properly informed about the potential risks of the treatment that caused his or her injuries. The claim must further prove that, had the patient been informed, he or she would have declined the treatment, so the injury would have been avoided.
Paul M. da Costa and his team are skilled medical malpractice attorneys at Sarno da Costa D’Aniello Maceri LLC, who understand what informed consent means and has experience with medical standards. He has a thorough comprehension of how insurance companies operate and can negotiate the best settlement for you. If no satisfactory settlement is be reached, your lawyer can then file a malpractice lawsuit and take your claim to court. Your attorney can help you navigate the complexities of your case, gather evidence to support your claim that you were not given adequate information to properly consent, and successfully secure damages.
Contact Us
Medical malpractice law can be complicated, but we can help. If you have been injured while receiving a medical treatment, and you believe your inability to make an informed decision and give consent was a factor in your injury, contact us to set up a free consultation with Paul M. da Costa and his team to discuss your case with a professional.
