“Informed Consent” Duty Not Satisfied When Doctor Lies
OCTOBER 11, 1999 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 15 Before undertaking any medical procedure, physicians are required to obtain the consent of the patient (except in some limited circumstances, such as medical emergencies). Under American law, it is not enough to simply get the patient’s consent, however. The consent must be “informed”—in other words, the patient must […]
Decision To Forego Surgery Also Requires Patient Consent
JULY 26, 1999 VOLUME 7, NUMBER 4 Jean Matthies was eighty-one years old when she fell and broke her hip. She had been living alone in her apartment in Union City, New Jersey, and had been quite independent. She did her own shopping, cooking and housecleaning. But with a fractured hip, she could not even […]