Washington medical malpractice law requires doctors to obtain your informed consent before any major treatment or procedure, and failing to do so may give you grounds for a medical malpractice claim. To succeed, you must show the doctor withheld a material fact, you would not have consented had you known, and the treatment caused you harm. You have three years from the date of the incident to file under Washington’s medical malpractice statute of limitations.
We trust doctors with our health and our lives, and Washington law backs that trust by requiring medical providers to be honest with you about any procedure or treatment before it happens. When that honesty is missing, the consequences can be serious, and the legal remedies are real.
Almost all medical therapies carry some degree of risk, from minor discomfort to permanent injury or death. As the patient, you are legally entitled to know those risks before you consent.
At Gilbert Law Firm, our medical malpractice attorneys have helped Spokane families navigate these cases for decades. Here’s what you need to know about informed consent and what happens when a provider fails to obtain it.
What Is Informed Consent?
Under RCW 7.70.030, Washington medical providers have a legal obligation to obtain a patient’s informed consent before administering any medical care. At its core, informed consent is about providing enough information to the patient so that they can accurately weigh the risks against the benefits of a potential therapy.
As such, the doctor is not required to disclose every possible outcome, just the most important ones.
Under RCW 7.70.060, a valid consent form must explain:
- The nature and character of the proposed treatment
- The anticipated results of the treatment
- Recognized alternative forms of treatment, including the option of no treatment
- The recognized serious possible risks and complications involved
A signed consent form creates a legal presumption that you gave informed consent — but that presumption can be challenged if the form was incomplete or you were not given a genuine opportunity to understand what you were signing.
Informed consent must be obtained prior to any major therapy or procedure. This does not apply to emergency medical situations, in which the patient may not possess the state of mind capable of providing informed consent or there isn’t time due to potential serious harm or loss of life.
The patient should be mentally capable of understanding the risks and benefits associated with a pending therapy or procedure. If you lack capacity to decide for yourself, consent may be provided by an authorized representative under RCW 7.70.065 (typically a spouse, parent, adult child, or appointed guardian in order of priority).
Proceeding Without Informed Consent
As the patient, you have the right to refuse any treatment. If you do not give your informed consent and the physician proceeds with the treatment, you may have grounds for a medical malpractice claim under Washington law, regardless of whether any criminal charges are pursued.
In order to successfully pursue a medical malpractice suit based on unauthorized treatment, your case must establish four things (under RCW 7.70.050):
- The doctor failed to disclose a material fact about the treatment
- You consented without being aware of or fully informed about that fact
- A reasonably prudent patient in your position would not have consented had they been properly informed
- The treatment caused you injury
There are many situations in which an unauthorized treatment occurs. For example, if the medical provider mistakenly performs the wrong procedure. (However, this legal basis would not apply if a surgeon discovered a serious health issue and corrected it in the midst of another procedure.)
There may also be certain situations in which a physician did not disclose all of the risks of a treatment despite their seriousness in an effort to provide beneficial treatment. For example, a physician may not explicitly disclose all of the risks of a potentially lifesaving therapy to a terminal patient. In such cases, the physician must explain why they chose not to explain all of the risks.
How Long Do You Have to File?
Washington’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice is generally three years from the date of the act or omission that caused the harm. Acting quickly is always the safest approach as evidence and medical records become harder to obtain over time.
Get the Legal Help You Need for Your Washington Medical Malpractice Suit
The Gilbert Law Firm has been helping Spokane families get the compensation they deserve in medical malpractice cases for decades. If you have a medical malpractice case, we have the personal injury lawyers to help it succeed. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and talk about your case.
Frequently Asked Questions: Informed Consent and Medical Malpractice in Spokane
1. Does signing a consent form mean I can’t sue for lack of informed consent?
Not necessarily. A signed consent form creates a legal presumption that you gave informed consent, but you can challenge that presumption by showing the form was incomplete, the risks weren’t properly explained, or you weren’t given a real opportunity to understand what you were signing. The form is evidence, not an absolute bar to a claim. Gilbert Law Firm’s medical malpractice lawyers can review whether your consent was legally valid.
2. What if my doctor performed a different procedure than I agreed to?
This is a clear case of unauthorized treatment. If your doctor performed a procedure you did not consent to (even if it was an honest mistake), you may have grounds for a malpractice claim under Washington law. Contact Gilbert Law Firm to discuss your situation.
3. Can I sue if my doctor didn’t tell me about a serious risk and I was harmed by it?
Yes, potentially. Under RCW 7.70.050, you must show the undisclosed risk was a material fact (one a reasonably prudent patient would have considered significant) and that you would not have consented had you known about it. You must also show the treatment caused your injury.
4. Who can give consent on my behalf if I am unconscious or incapacitated?
Washington law under RCW 7.70.065 allows authorized representatives to provide consent for incapacitated patients in a specific order of priority. If a provider bypassed you when you were capable of deciding or obtained consent from someone without authority to give it, that may constitute a violation of your rights.
5. How long do I have to file an informed consent malpractice claim in Washington?
Washington’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice is generally three years from the date of the act or omission. The clock may start later if you could not reasonably have discovered the harm right away. Contact Gilbert Law Firm as soon as possible to protect your rights.
6. What is a “material fact” that a doctor must disclose?
Under RCW 7.70.050, a material fact is anything a reasonably prudent patient in your position would consider significant when deciding whether to consent to treatment. This includes serious risks, likely outcomes, and alternative treatments available to you, including the option of no treatment at all.
