100% satisfaction guarantee Immediately available after payment Both online and in PDF No strings attached
logo-home
Previously searched by you
Previously searched by you
logo
First Class Informed Consent and Medical Malpractice notes R166,48
Add to cart
Quickly navigate to
Preview
  2.  
  3. The University Of Liverpool (UoL)
  4.  
  5. LLB Law
  6.  
  7. Medical Law and Ethics I (LAW051)

Study guide

First Class Informed Consent and Medical Malpractice notes
 0 purchase
  • Course
  • Medical Law and Ethics I (LAW051)
  • Institution
  • The University Of Liverpool (UoL)
  • Book
  • Medical Law

This 24-page document contains notes of a First Class standard covering the entire Informed Consent topic and the way it links with Medical Malpractice, including the history of informed consent leading up to the current position in Montgomery; causation and remoteness of damage; and defences. All ...

[Show more]

Preview 3 out of 24  pages

Document information

  • August 18, 2020
  • 24
  • 2019/2020
  • Study guide

Subjects

  • law
  • law llb
  • informed consent
  • medical malpractice
  • medical law
  • medical
  • medical law and ethics
  • ethics
  • first class

Connected book

book image

Book Title:

Author(s):

  • Edition:
  • ISBN:
  • Edition:

More summaries for

  • LCR4803 EXAM PACK 2024
All for this textbook (1)

Written for

  • The University of Liverpool (UoL)
  • LLB Law
  • Medical Law and Ethics I (LAW051)
All documents for this subject (4)

Seller

avatar-seller
dulcieannjones

Content preview

INFORMED CONSENT AND
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE




2019/2020
MEDICAL LAW AND ETHICS I

, INFORMED CONSENT


Informed consent looks to the duty of the doctor to disclose information to the patient with respect to
the procedure to be carried out and the risks of said treatment.

Why inform patients?
o Doctors can avoid legal action
o Respecting patient autonomy
o Enhance healthcare

Why not inform patients?
o The 'time' factor - the duty to inform patients as to all aspects of their treatment and procedures may
interrupt crucial activities
o Too much information can make people anxious
o Medical information is sometimes complex
o Patients do not want to be informed



BATTERY


The intentional and direct application of unlawful force constitutes the tort of battery (Collins v Wilcock,
per Lord Justice Goff). A battery requires:
• An intention to commit the act - it is irrelevant whether the consequences were intended; and
• A direct application of force - there must be some physical touching - this is often not the case
in information disclosure

The tort is actionable per say: the claimant does not have to prove special damage. D is liable for all
consequences of the touching, unlike in negligence where D is only liable for foreseeable damage. This
protects a person’s right to self-determination.

The consent of a competent patient provides a defence.

How much information is enough to render the consent valid and real for the purpose of a battery?

Chatterton v Gerson [1981] –

‘Once the patient is informed in broad terms of the nature of the procedure which is intended, and
gives her consent, that consent is real', per Justice Bristow.

Thus, the doctor is merely required to inform P generally about the treatment. A failure to discuss or
explain the risks of the proposed treatment (or alternatives to that treatment) goes to the doctor's duty
of care in negligence, not battery.

Broadly speaking, there are three types of battery case that can be identifiable from the case law:

Doctor's mistaken belief as to a valid consent

The doctor may reasonably believe that he has a valid consent but, through some error, the procedure
will constitute a battery even though it is the result of a mistake.

, Chatterton v Gerson [as above] –

Facts: The defendants operated on the patient’s leg twice. The first operation was consented to. The
second operation that the doctor carried out was performed without having explained to the patient
why he was operating and what the operation involved. The defendant did this because he assumed
that the patient’s consent to the first operation carried on to the second operation. The second
operation left the patient without sensation in the leg.

Held: D had not informed in patient in broad terms of what was happening on the second occasion.

Schweizer v Central Hospital (1974) –

Facts: The patient had consented to an operation on his foot. There was a mix-up and an operation was
carried out on his spine.

Held: There was no valid consent.

Fraud and misrepresentation

The fraud and misrepresentation must relate to the nature of the procedure. These are extreme cases.

R v Richardson [1999] –

Facts: A dentist was suspended but continued to practice. Her patients wrongly assumed that she was
entitled to practice.

Held: There was no battery. The fraud and misrepresentation was to the dentist's identity, not the
nature of the procedure.

Compare with: Appleton v Garrett [1996] –

Facts: A dentist performed wholly unnecessary surgery for financial gain.

Held: There was a battery. The fraud and misrepresentation related to the nature of the procedure, in
that it was being performed for non-medical reasons.

Chatterton v Gerson [as above] –

Held: "if information is withheld in bad faith, the consent will be vitiated by fraud."

Re T (adult: refusal of medical treatment) [1992] –

Held: "…misinforming a patient, whether or not innocently, and the withholding of information which
is expressly or impliedly sought by the patient may well vitiate either a consent or a refusal."

R v Flattery (1877) –

Held: Consent to sexual intercourse in the belief that the procedure was a surgical operation was not a
valid consent.

The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Guaranteed quality through customer reviews

Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.

Quick and easy check-out

Quick and easy check-out

You can quickly pay through EFT, credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.

Focus on what matters

Focus on what matters

Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!

Frequently asked questions

What do I get when I buy this document?

You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.

Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?

Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.

Who am I buying this summary from?

Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller dulcieannjones. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.

Will I be stuck with a subscription?

No, you only buy this summary for R166,48. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.

Can Stuvia be trusted?

4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)

68175 documents were sold in the last 30 days

Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy summaries for 15 years now

Start selling
R166,48
  • (0)
Add to cart
Added