More about the Dickhoff case: Under Dickhoff’s set of facts -- a general pediatrician or family doctor who negligently fails to refer his patient to a specialist for diagnosing a dangerously looking condition (e.g., a lump on the baby’s body) -- the wronged patient can also sue the doctor for violating her right to informed consent. Generalists must inform their patients about potentially useful referrals. Importantly, if the patient gets misinformed in this way when her chances to survive are above 50%, suing the doctor for informed-consent violation might allow the patient to recover compensation for her entire damage (rather than 20% as might happen in Dickhoff). Such suits, however, cannot properly be filed in the states in which violations of informed consent are actionable only as assault or battery (Pennsylvania, for example). Minnesota is not one of those states: there, patients can sue doctors for negligent nondisclosure as well.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 21:17:15 +0000
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