Can You Sue a Doctor for Failing to Warn About Risks?
Healthcare providers have a duty to educate their patients regarding the basics of a procedure, any associated risks, and alternative treatment options. This is known as informed consent, and it allows patients to take control of their healthcare decisions. Even if a physician provides you with the information you need regarding a treatment or procedure and you have a negative outcome, you at least have all the information you need to make the best decision possible.
However, if a doctor does not adequately warn you about risks and you experience harm, you may be eligible to recover damages. If you would like to discuss your legal options, the medical malpractice lawyers at Parham Smith & Archenhold are here to answer your questions.
What is Informed Consent?
Before a physician or other medical professional can perform a procedure or administer a treatment, they must obtain a patient’s informed consent. Obtaining informed consent requires a provider to explain to a patient their diagnosis, the potential health consequences of not receiving treatment, and the available alternative therapies. The patient should be allowed to ask any questions or have their concerns addressed at this time.
If a patient is interested in a particular treatment, the provider should explain the benefits, potential health risks, and the expected recovery time. If there are specific side effects that the patient should be made aware of, the doctor should also discuss these. Only after the patient has all treatment options laid out in front of them will they be in a position to make an informed decision.
Does Failure to Warn About Risks Always Result in a Medical Malpractice Claim?
Although the failure to warn about risks forms the basis for many medical malpractice suits, you must also suffer damages to be eligible for compensation. For example, imagine a patient undergoes a procedure without being informed of possible severe side effects. The patient cannot sue if they did not experience any of the side effects in question. A successful malpractice claim based on lack of informed consent requires that you suffered harm as a result and demonstrating you would have made a different decision had you known the risks.
Requirements for Claiming Lack of Informed Consent
Informed consent cases are based on a physician failing to provide material information that would have had an impact on your decision had you known it. A medical provider’s notes can help prove a lack of informed consent, since your physician will write down what information was provided to you. This can enable a medical malpractice attorney to deduce what information was not provided to you, thereby building the foundation of your case.
Once you can show that material information was not provided to you, you must prove that this lack of information caused you to decide that you would not have otherwise made if you had all the information. Even if you can demonstrate all of these facts, you must prove that you suffered damages or losses, or have a valid malpractice claim. If you are interested in learning if you have a valid medical malpractice claim, do not hesitate to contact our legal team today.
Reach Out to Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers
If you have been impacted by a doctor failing to make you aware of the risks associated with a treatment or procedure, you deserve compensation for your injuries. Thankfully, the Greenville medical malpractice attorneys at Parham Smith & Archenhold have the necessary experience to demonstrate where a physician may have failed to provide the essential information to help you make an informed decision.
With over 30 years of helping our community, our firm has successfully represented victims of medical malpractice, helping them secure the financial resources they need to move forward. To learn more or to schedule your free case evaluation, contact us online or call (864) 432-1796.