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Communication is an important part of medical care. You rely on your doctor to provide accurate information about a diagnosis and treatment plan options. You also have the right to an explanation of treatment risks that allows you to make an informed healthcare decision. When unexpected injury or harm occurs due to a doctor’s lack of disclosure, you may have a valid medical malpractice claim.
A Philadelphia lack of informed consent lawyer can pursue a case against negligent healthcare providers to recover compensation for the damages and losses you experience in these cases. You can learn more about cases involving a lack of informed consent below and contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney at Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. to schedule a free consultation.
What Is a Lack of Informed Consent in Medical Care?
Healthcare providers generally need your consent before giving you a treatment plan, ordering diagnostic testing, or providing any kind of medical care. Your consent requires full disclosure and understanding of the risks associated with a proposed treatment. Without this information, you cannot properly consent to decisions about your care. A Philadelphia lawyer can help you determine if your doctor failed to obtain informed consent in your case. Common examples of medical situations involving a lack of informed consent include:
- Failing to disclose the risks of surgery in writing
- Not explaining alternative treatment options
- Failing to obtain the patient’s consent in writing
- Failing to warn about possible side effects
- Not describing the potential prognosis from a treatment
- Not explaining the likely prognosis without treatment
A review of your medical file and a consultation with medical experts can help an attorney evaluate a claim for medical malpractice based on lack of informed consent. The review can also include further investigation involving testimony from the doctor, patient, family members, and others who can speak to the exchange of information and communications that occurred.
You generally have two years from the date of the alleged malpractice or its reasonable discovery to file a medical malpractice claim. It is important to meet with an attorney as soon as possible to evaluate your claim and file a lawsuit to recover compensation for your damages.
Recovering Compensation in Lack of Informed Consent Malpractice Claims
In a medical malpractice claim, your injury must relate to the lack of informed consent. Your lawyer must prove that a reasonable person might not have chosen the treatment plan if the doctor fully informed them of the risks. Those specific risks must also have materialized during your medical care and caused you further harm.
The compensation a Philadelphia lawyer pursues in a lack of informed consent case will depend on the nature of your injury and damages. You can generally recover compensation for two types of damages in a claim for personal injury or wrongful death. The first type is economic damages. These refer to the direct financial losses a person experiences due to the medical malpractice injury. Examples of economic damages often include costs for future medical or rehabilitative care and lost earnings from being unable to work. The second type of damage is non-economic. These compensate for losses such as pain and suffering, permanent disfigurement, and diminished quality of life.
Contact a Philadelphia Lawyer About a Lack of Informed Consent Case
When the doctor fails to inform you about the risks or consequences of a medical decision, and you suffer injury as a result, you can pursue a claim for medical malpractice. The attorneys at Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. advocate for clients in these cases to hold negligent doctors and healthcare providers accountable.
Contact our office today to schedule a free initial consultation with a Philadelphia lack of informed consent lawyer.
