In personal injury cases, medical records can be a major component. When an individual is injured, they typically seek medical attention. During this process, the hospital or treatment center will keep track of all treatment and medical bills associated with the injury. In Florida, a medical consent form must be signed to get medical treatment. If the treatment results in medical malpractice, it is still possible to file a lawsuit against the opposing party.
Types of Consent
There are two types of consent and they both must be met for a medical procedure to take place. Express written consent is required for surgery to take place. For this to occur, the doctor must have you sign a form that details the procedure as well as potential complications that can result from the procedure. A doctor will explain all of this to you before you sign the form. However, according to LegalMatch.com, expressed consent is not enough. There must also be informed consent. For this to be compliant, the patient must also know and understand all of the possible outcomes. This does not mean the doctor should just list the possibilities for you. The doctor must explain what those possibilities are and ensure that you understand what it means.
Consent Violations
Even if you sign the consent form and are educated on the possible complications, things can happen that are outside the realm of the details on the form. When this occurs and malpractice is a result, the doctor or treatment center is guilty of a consent violation. An example of this is if the doctor decides to perform a second surgery on the patient that is not an emergency or when the doctor operates on the wrong body part. In these circumstances, you have not given express or informed consent for that specific surgery. Other consent violations occur when a potential complication is not listed on the consent form, the complication is more popular than the consent form explains, or the complications described by the doctor and the ones on the form differ.
When Can You File A Lawsuit?
On its own, a consent violation is not grounds for a lawsuit, according to AllLaw.com. To file a lawsuit, the patient must also prove that the doctor, treatment center, or healthcare provider caused the patient harm. You must also prove that the harm caused was a result of a negligent act. Just having a consent violation is not enough to file the lawsuit but if malpractice occurred, then you may have a case even if you signed a medical consent form.
If you have been a victim of malpractice and are looking for a qualified personal injury attorney in South Florida, please contact us for a free case evaluation. You may still file a lawsuit even if you signed the medical consent form and we will be happy to review your claim to get you what you deserve.
