Informed consent: impact on court decisions

Authors

Abstract

The informed consent form is essential in the physician-patient relationship. To evaluate its impact on court decisions, we conducted a retrospective study of 70 civil suits involving surgical and non-surgical aesthetic medical procedures with an informed consent form signed by patients. The cases, judged between 2014 and 2016, were selected from Brazilian courts websites and classified into two groups: acquitted (51%) and convicted (49%) doctors. In the first group, 39% of acquittals were based on the proper presentation of the informed consent form, whereas in the second 50% of the professionals were convicted for not including the document. The informed consent thus stands out when judging medical errors, and the duty to warn is one of the pillars of the professional liability and, when neglected, becomes a substantial factor for their conviction. 

Keywords:

Informed consent form. Duty to warn. Esthetics. Damage liability. Medical errors.

Author Biographies

Merlei Cristina Manzini, FACULDADE DE MEDICINA DO ABC

médica dermatologista

mestranda pela faculdade de medicina do ABC-departamento de dermatologia

BACHARELA em Direito pela universidade municipal de são caetano do sul

Carlos D' Apparecida Santos Machado Filh, Faculdade de medicina do ABC departamento de dermatologia professos titular

Livre docente-professor titular do departamento de dermatologia da faculdade de medicina do ABC

Paulo Ricardo Criado, faculdade de medicina do ABC

Livre docente-professor do departamento de dermatologia da faculdade de medicina do ABC

Vol. 28 No. 3 (2020): Revista Bioética 28(3)

Published:

2020-09-21

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How to Cite

1.
Manzini MC, Santos Machado Filh CDA, Criado PR. Informed consent: impact on court decisions. Rev. bioét.(Impr.). [Internet]. 2020 Sep. 21 [cited 2024 May 12];28(3). Available from: https://revistabioetica.cfm.org.br/revista_bioetica/article/view/2019