Question

Mathias, a patient of Dr. Witt’s at St. Catherine’s Hospital, delivered a full-term son by cesarean sec- tion on February 2, 1993, while she was under general anesthesia. In the operating room, Dr. Witt indicated that he needed a particular instrument that would be used in a tubal ligation. The nurses, Ms. Snyder and Ms. Perri, employees of St. Cathe- rine’s, looked at Mathias’s chart. Ms. Snyder informed Dr. Witt that she could not find a signed consent form for the procedure. In deposition testimony, Ms. Snyder stated that Witt replied, “Oh, okay.” Dr. Witt performed a tubal ligation. Three days after the procedure a nurse brought Mathias a con- sent form that had to be signed, telling Mathias the form was “just to close up our records.” The nurse testified in her deposition that she signed. Ms. Perri’s name on that same consent form and backdated it to February 2, the day the surgery was performed. The trial court noted that these actions after the surgery were immaterial to the issue of the hospital’s duty to Mathias. The trial court granted summary judgment dismissing St. Catherine’s from the malpractice action. Mr. and Ms. Mathias appealed the summary judgment, contending that the hospital owed a duty to Mathias to prevent her physician from performing a tubal ligation for which there was no signed consent.

Do you agree with the court’s finding that the hospital had no legal duty to ensure that Witt obtain informed consent from Mathias? Explain. 2. What issues do you see in another nurse’s decision to sign Perri’s name on the consent form and then backdate it to February 2, 1993?

Answer 1

Ans1 . The court' s finding are incorrect , A patient approaching a doctor expects medical treatment with all the knowledge and skill that the doctor possesses to bring relief to his medical problem. A doctor owes certain duties to his patient and a breach of any of these duties gives a cause of action for negligence against the doctor. The doctor has a duty to obtain prior informed consent from the patient before carrying out diagnostic tests and therapeutic management. The services of the doctors are covered under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and a patient can seek redressal of grievances from the Consumer Courts. Case laws are an important source of law in adjudicating various issues of negligence arising out of medical treatment.

Ans 2 . The issues here are that the nurse signing the consent form in other person's name is a forgery. Now, there is a reason that the consent forms are signed at the hospital. This is because we cannot take anybody's life in out hands without obtaining their consent. Patients can even die during the operations, so it is essential to obtain their consent.

Also, another issue here is of the backdate. Forging a back date on the consent form was clearly an offence. A nurse cannot take matters in her hand like this.