How to Recover in Texas if Your Doctor Failed to Disclose Risks

There are many reasons why a patient may consider filing a medical malpractice lawsuit against her doctor. One example involves a situation where the doctor fails to disclose to the patient certain risks or hazards that accompany medical care or surgical procedures.

In Texas, in order to recovery damages (money) from a physician who fails to disclose risks of an operation, you must prove that the risks he forgot to mention were the kinds of risks that a reasonable person would consider when deciding whether or not to go through with the medical treatment. This is the law as stated in the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code section 74.101.

A doctor is usually required to obtain a patient's informed consent before proceeding to treatment. In other words, it is not enough for the doctor to simply obtain your consent, he must first inform you of all the risks associated with the treatment he offers.

At the same time, your doctor can fail to inform you of certain risks without being negligent. For example, let's say your doctor recommended that you have surgery on your ear and he tells you all the risks associated with the surgery, but he fails to mention that the surgery may give you headaches for a few days afterwards. Is that negligence? Probably not because most people won't let a few days of headaches deter them from getting surgery. Most people will expect to have headaches afterward. One way to think about it is your doctor must tell you all the important risks associated with the treatment.

If you think your doctor treated you without first informing you of an important risk, you should speak with an experienced medical malpractice attorney right away. The more you delay speaking with an attorney, the less chance you have of enforcing your rights. To find a competent and knowledgeable medical malpractice attorney near you, click on your state on the left side of your screen.