§ 27-15 Medical Malpractice - Doctrine of Informed Consent - General Charge

• Library: South Carolina Requests to Charge - Civil (SCBar) (2016 Ed.)

§ 27-15 Medical Malpractice - Doctrine of Informed Consent - General Charge

NOTE: This charge uses "surgeon" but is applicable to any physician or specialist.

We have a doctrine of informed consent. Under the principle of informed consent, the scope of a surgeon's duty to disclose is measured by those communications a reasonable surgical practitioner would make under the same or similar circumstances. Under the doctrine of informed consent, a surgeon who performs diagnostic, therapeutic or surgical procedures has a duty to disclose to a patient of sound mind in the absence of an emergency that warrants immediate surgical treatment:

(1) the diagnosis;
(2) the general nature of the contemplated procedure;
(3) the material risks involved in the procedure;
(4) the probability of success associated with the procedure;
(5) the prognosis if the procedure is not carried out; and
(6) existence of any alternatives to the procedure.

The basis of this doctrine is the patient's right to exercise control over his own body by deciding intelligently for himself whether or not to submit to a particular procedure. A surgeon who proposes to perform a surgical procedure on a patient is under a duty to explain to the patient what he proposes to do, the reason for the procedure, what the risks to the patient may be in performing the procedure, and the risks of rejecting the procedure. In addition, the alternatives may be specifically explained. The surgeon is under a duty to advise the patient of all the facts that a reasonable, prudent surgeon would explain before performing such a...