Lack of Informed Consent Attorney in Florida
Understanding Your Rights as a Patient
As a patient, you are entitled to certain information. This includes full disclosure of the risks that you could be facing when you agree to participate in any sort of medical procedure. Your doctor must acquire your informed consent before subjecting you to most medical treatments, procedures, or tests—with the exception of certain routine, non-treatment procedures—since you have the right to make an educated decision about your healthcare.
Once you have acknowledged the risks that you could be facing, either through verbal or written consent, your doctor cannot be held accountable for any complications that subsequently arise—unless, of course, their own negligence has contributed to your injuries. On the other hand, you may be entitled to compensation if your doctor had failed to acquire your informed consent before subjecting you to a risky medical procedure.
In order to sue for medical malpractice, however, you must be able to prove that:
- You would have opted out of the treatment had you been informed of the potential risks
- The risks were significant enough to warrant informed consent
- You have suffered damages as a result of your doctor’s negligence
If you are wondering whether or not your case meets this burden of proof, we encourage you to speak with our Tampa medical malpractice attorneys at The Florida Law Group. We have recovered millions of dollars in damages for our clients over the years.
What Information Must Be Disclosed? Our Tampa Medical Malpractice Attorneys Explain.
While your doctor is not expected to inform you of all possible complications that could arise during the course of a procedure, they are required to disclose all pertinent information. This will vary from case to case, depending on the nature of the treatment or procedure.
Your doctor must typically explain, and give you the chance to review, the following information:
- The purpose of the proposed treatment/procedure
- The chances of the procedure being successful
- Information about alternative treatments
- The specific risks involved in the procedure
- The estimated cost of the treatment/procedure
When Informed Consent Is Not Required in Florida
As mentioned earlier, your doctor is not required to acquire consent for basic medical procedures like checking your heart rate, testing your reflexes, conducting a physical examination, etc. Beyond that, however, there are numerous other exceptions to the informed consent rule. For example, your doctor would not be expected to get your informed consent in emergency situations. If they have a limited amount of time to initiate life-saving procedures and/or you have been rendered unconscious, your doctor would be expected to make a reasonable decision on your behalf. Thus, you would not be eligible to file a medical malpractice lawsuit even if you would have otherwise chosen to deny treatment.
Seek Help from Our Board Certified Trial Expert!
When dealing with a case of medical malpractice, you will want an aggressive legal advocate in your corner. Fortunately, you don’t need to look any further than the Tampa medical malpractice lawyers at our firm. Our lead attorney, Chris Limberopoulos, is a Board Certified Civil Trial Specialist by The National Board of Trial Advocacy, placing him among the 1% of all lawyers who have earned this distinction. For this reason, you can trust that your case will be in good hands when you turn to our firm for help.
