Medical Malpractice Attorneys and Lawyers

Can medical malpractice be for not telling someone about risks?

I had a surgeon who did an operation on me that was elective and I've had a worsening of my medical situation, and this risk was not mentioned to me and it was a jaw surgery that dramatically changed my apperance. Something else that was not told to me. Can that be malpractice or does a surgeon not have to tell you the risks?

Public Comments

1. I believe they are required to inform you of the risks. Even if they're not legally required, they should be on a professional basis. They ought to have let you know any risks because that could definitely make someone change their mind. Pursue it !
2. You're really asking about 2 different things. 1) Should your surgeon have informed you that the procedure might make your condition worse, and that it would alter your appearance? Absolutely. That is standard of care in any modern medical community. 2) Is it malpractice not to? Not necessarily. Just deviating from standard of care does not equal malpractice in most states. You usually have to prove harm resulted to you, and that the harm was a direct result of not following standard of care. Poorly informed consent was probably not the cause of your current problem. Further, were these risks disclosed on the consent that you would have had to sign to give him permission to operate on you? If so, you would have a hard time proving he didn't talk to you about it. (I'm not calling you a liar, just saying malpractice would be very difficult to prove.)
3. Just because the doctor did not voice the risks does not mean that you were not informed. Evryone has to sign a consent form before surgery. No one actually reads it. But if you had it would have listed a number of risks that some doctors do not feel the need to voice.