Everyone knows that before any doctor is able to operate or provide any type of non-emergency medical procedure, they must have your written permission. This is called informed consent. A problem can arise, however as healthcare laws have been revamped over the last 8 plus years, many Florida courts have held medical personal to an even higher standard. Several recent rulings have indicated that the attending physician is responsible for making sure the patient actually understands the pros and cons of the medical procedure. The personal injury attorney in Florida has had somewhat of an advantage in the courtroom as a result of this predisposition.
In the city of Boca Raton a doctor must fully inform each patient about any kind of risk that might be involved with the medical procedure first. Then and only then can they have a patient sign an informed consent authorization. If it is found in a medical malpractice suite in Boca Raton, Florida that the supervising physician failed to obtain a written authorization or obtained a written authorization without speaking with the patient, they have violated state law and are liable. In Florida if an injury is sustained by the patient, the doctor is liable because of what is referred to as medical battery.
Even is the patients original injuries were from a car accident the auto accident attorney would have to establish several key positions on the behalf of the injured plaintiff. The case would be more complex, adding to the mix a possible malpractice liability. If the plaintiff was additionally injured as a result of a medical procedure and was not fully informed of the procedure’s risks. In Florida the law imposes a need to establish that the medical procedure was not usual or customary. In other words a common procedure that every patient should be familiar with.
If it can be shown that the medical procedure was usual and customary and that anyone would agree, then liability on the treating physician’s part may not be found. In addition, a recent case in the city of Orlando, encountered a secondary level of informed consent, does the entire medical team need to be identified prior to surgery and agreed upon as a part of informed consent. The personal injury attorney in this case had to establish that the patient had a right to be informed of the assisting surgeon’s role during the medical procedure.
The question needs to be asked: How often are individuals injured due to a faulty medical care system in Florida? Auto accident attorneys assist individuals resolve PIP causes and liability issues on a regular basis. What they are seeing more and more often is that the cases are revolving around the quality of care, rather than the accident and the cause of the initial injury.