Q: If you signed an informed consent can you still sue for malpractice?

A: Yes, yes, and yes. Informed consent just means that you consent to the procedure. You are not consenting to medical malpractice. In fact, we have a motion we regularly file to keep in informed consent that the patient signed out of evidence if it is not an informed consent case.

A: More facts would have to be known to answer your question. But generally speaking, an informed consent is one piece of evidence that must be considered when determining whether malpractice has occurred. No matter what the informed consent may provide in terms of possible risks and complications, a physician or other health care provider must comply with the accepted standards of care, and if the health care provider does not, and if the negligence causes injury, then it is quite possible that a case exists. Another factor is whether the health care provider properly explained the informed consent to the patient prior to the patient's signature.

A: Signing a consent form does not take away your basis for a lawsuit. No one, including doctors and nurses, can touch you, give you drugs, or run tests on you without your permission. Therefore, you must sign a consent form to allow the doctors and nurses to treat and care for you. However, by signing the form you are not giving the doctors and nurses permission to make avoidable mistakes or be negligent in a way that harms you.

A: You need to contact a member of the Md Assn for Justice that handles medical carelessness cases --they give free consultations.