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In Indiana, medical professionals must seek a patient’s informed consent to administer treatment. Under certain circumstances, failing to obtain a patient’s consent before treatment may give rise to a medical malpractice claim when the patient suffers injuries, complications, or other adverse consequences. In these situations, the patient may seek compensation and accountability from their healthcare provider.
After suffering harm following your medical provider’s failure to obtain informed consent, you may have the right to seek compensation for your additional medical care, lost income, and pain and suffering. Contact the Law Office of Kelley J. Johnson for an initial case evaluation to learn about your options for pursuing claims for injuries caused by medical errors.
What Is Informed Consent?
Under the generally accepted standard of medical care, a healthcare provider must obtain a patient’s informed consent before performing any examination, testing, procedure, or treatment. To obtain a patient’s informed consent, a healthcare provider must provide the patient with:
- An explanation of the nature of their injury, illness, or condition
- A complete description of the proposed examination, testing, or treatment
- The expected outcome of the proposed treatment
- The benefits and risks of the proposed course of treatment
- All other reasonable alternatives to the proposed treatment, their risks and benefits, and the potential outcomes of those alternatives
Giving patients this information allows them to decide whether to agree to a proposed exam, test, or treatment and to choose the exact course of treatment. Failing to obtain a patient’s informed consent before commencing treatment violates the patient’s rights to privacy and bodily integrity, since any treatment performed without informed consent effectively occurs without the patient’s permission.
When Is Informed Consent Required?
In most cases, members of the medical profession must get informed consent from a patient before commencing an examination, testing, or treatment. Under Indiana law, a patient may provide informed consent for their healthcare if the patient is:
- an adult
- an emancipated minor
- at least 14 years old, not dependent on a parent or guardian for support, living apart from their parent or guardian, and managing their own affairs
Any person may provide informed consent for their treatment if they:
- Are or have been married
- Are in the U.S. military
- Are authorized to consent to healthcare by any other statute
Furthermore, a 16- or 17-year-old who is pregnant, in labor, or in postpartum care for up to 60 days following labor can provide consent for healthcare. However, the law requires healthcare providers to reasonably attempt to contact the minor’s parent or guardian before allowing them to consent to their healthcare.
Individuals who have the legal capacity to give informed consent for healthcare can designate other people to provide consent in the event they become physically or mentally incapacitated. When an incapacitated person does not have a designated healthcare proxy, providers may seek consent from specific individuals designated by Indiana law, including:
- A court-appointed guardian of the patient
- The patient’s spouse
- An adult child or grandchild of the patient
- An adult sibling of the patient
- The patient’s parent or grandparent
- An adult in the nearest degree of kinship
- An adult friend who has regular contact with the patient and has become familiar with their activities, health, and religious and moral beliefs
In certain situations, healthcare providers may proceed with treatment without obtaining informed consent. For example, providers may render treatment in emergencies, such as when an incapacitated patient enters the emergency department. Healthcare providers may also proceed with treatment if delay would place the patient at imminent risk of severe harm or death, especially if the patient cannot make an informed decision to withhold consent.
What Is an Informed Consent Medical Malpractice Claim?
A failure to obtain informed consent can give rise to medical malpractice claims when a course of treatment has an adverse outcome for the patient that alternative treatments would not have caused. Obtaining informed consent requires a provider to explain the risks and benefits of a proposed treatment or procedure and to offer reasonable alternative treatments, discussing the risks and benefits of each.
A patient may bring a medical malpractice action against their doctor if the doctor fails to advise them of a risk or complication of a treatment or procedure, and they ultimately suffer that complication. Patients may also bring medical malpractice cases if they suffer an adverse outcome from a particular treatment when their doctor fails to advise them of alternative treatments that would not have resulted in the same outcome.
What Do I Have to Prove to Establish Medical Negligence?
In a medical malpractice claim, you must prove that your healthcare provider rendered treatment that failed to comply with the applicable standard of care. Although specific standards of care vary from patient to patient, healthcare professionals describe the applicable standard of care as the treatment decisions and actions other providers with similar training and experience would undertake in identical circumstances. In a case involving a lack of informed consent, you may prove a healthcare provider’s negligent act by showing that other providers would have provided additional or different information when seeking informed consent.
Common examples of evidence used in informed consent claims include:
- Medical records for your initial condition or illness and treatment that resulted in your injury
- Provider notes, including documentation of what your provider discussed with you when proposing treatment
- Witness testimony
- Staffing records
- Correspondence from your healthcare provider
- Medical expert testimony to discuss how your treatment caused your injury and whether reasonable alternative treatments would have avoided the injury
Contact Our Dedicated Medical Negligence Lawyer for a Free Case Review
If you’ve suffered harm due to medical negligence after a healthcare provider failed to obtain your informed consent, you may have grounds to seek financial compensation and accountability. Contact the Law Office of Kelley J. Johnson today for a free, no-obligation consultation with a medical errors attorney. We look forward to discussing your legal options for pursuing the justice and compensation you deserve.
