It is not sufficient for a medical professional to have obtained the patient’s consent; the consent must be informed consent from a fully informed patient. Informed Consent requires a medical professional to advise the patient of their medical condition and available medical options. In order for there to be informed consent, the patient must have been advised of the following:

Consenting to treatment does not relieve the medical practitioner from liability for negligence if the procedure or treatment is incorrectly performed. The medical provider must still perform according to acceptable levels of care or will be deemed negligent.

 

Damages in a case involving lack of informed consent differ from medical malpractice cases involving negligence. Since the liability stems from the failure to obtain consent, in a lack of informed consent case, the plaintiff may be entitled to recover damages even if the procedure or treatment is successful.