Informed Consent Claims in Georgia & South Carolina
Every patient has the legal right to make informed decisions about their medical care. Before performing a surgery, procedure, or treatment, a doctor must explain the nature of the proposed treatment, its material risks and potential complications, alternative treatment options, and the risks of foregoing treatment entirely. When a doctor fails to provide this information and the patient suffers harm from a risk they were not warned about, the patient may have an informed consent claim — a specific type of medical malpractice.
At Roden Law, our informed consent lawyers represent patients across Georgia and South Carolina who were not given the information they needed to make meaningful decisions about their medical care. These cases arise when patients suffer complications they would have avoided had they been properly informed of the risks and alternatives.
Georgia Informed Consent Law
Georgia’s informed consent requirements are established through case law and statute. Under Georgia law, a doctor must disclose material risks that a reasonable patient would want to know in making a treatment decision. Georgia uses the “professional” standard — meaning the disclosure required is measured by what a reasonable medical practitioner in the same specialty would have disclosed under similar circumstances.
Georgia’s medical malpractice framework applies to informed consent claims, including the expert affidavit requirement under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1 and the 5-year statute of repose under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71.
South Carolina Informed Consent Law
South Carolina addresses informed consent through its medical malpractice statute. Under S.C. Code § 15-79-125, informed consent claims are subject to the same Notice of Intent and expert opinion requirements as other medical malpractice actions. South Carolina courts measure the disclosure a doctor owed by what a reasonable medical practitioner of like training would have disclosed under the same or similar circumstances (Hook v. Rothstein, 281 S.C. 541, 316 S.E.2d 690 (Ct. App. 1984)).
Common Informed Consent Failures
Informed consent failures can occur in many medical contexts:
- Failure to disclose known risks of a surgical procedure, such as nerve damage, paralysis, or infection
- Not informing patients of less invasive alternative treatments
- Failing to explain the risks of a medication, including serious side effects and drug interactions
- Performing a different or more extensive procedure than what the patient consented to
- Not disclosing the surgeon’s lack of experience with a particular procedure
- Obtaining consent when the patient was under sedation, in pain, or otherwise unable to give meaningful consent
- Failing to use a qualified interpreter for non-English-speaking patients
Informed consent failures often accompany other forms of malpractice. If your doctor performed a procedure you did not fully consent to and a surgical error occurred, you may have claims for both informed consent failure and surgical negligence. When informed consent failures involve anesthesia, the anesthesiologist’s separate duty to obtain consent for the anesthesia plan may also apply.
Proving an Informed Consent Claim
To succeed in an informed consent case, you must prove three elements:
- Failure to disclose: The doctor did not adequately inform you of a material risk, complication, or alternative treatment
- Causation: Had you been properly informed, you would not have consented to the procedure
- Harm: You suffered injury from the undisclosed risk
The causation element often centers on what a “reasonable patient” would have decided if properly informed. Courts consider whether the undisclosed risk was significant enough that a reasonable person would have reconsidered the treatment.
Damages in Informed Consent Cases
Patients who prove informed consent violations may recover compensation for all injuries and complications resulting from the procedure, additional medical treatment required, lost wages during recovery, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of bodily function or autonomy. In cases where an informed consent failure leads to catastrophic injury or death, our wrongful death lawyers are available to assist. Contact Roden Law for a free consultation.
