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  • Title: Hospital challenged legality of four-man bargaining unit.
    Author: Regan WA.
    Journal: Hosp Prog; 1978 Jul; 59(7):98, 103. PubMed ID: 658943.
    Abstract:
    Joyce Thornton, age 29, brought a malpractice action against Dr. Annest alleging that he removed her fallopian tubes unnecessarily and without her consent. Dr. Annest testified that he had proposed exploratory surgery to ascertain if her problem was recurrent pelvic inflammatory disease; that he told Ms. Thornton that if the disease were extensive, removal of her tubes and uterus could be necessary; that he said he would remove anything necessary to alleviate her abdominal problem; and that Ms. Thornton consented to the surgery. The patient's medical record included a signed form consenting to an exploratory laparotomy and to procedures which the doctor "may consdier necessary or advisable in the course of the operation." Joyce Thornton argued that Dr. Annest failed to inform her before surgery of other feasible methods of treatment, and she presented medical evidence of 4 possible alternatives. The Superior Court of Pierce County, Washington entered judgment in favor of Dr. Annest. Joyce Thornton appealed. The Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 2 affirmed the judgment in favor of Dr. Annest, but, in doing so, recognized that the doctor had an obligation to inform Ms. Thornton of alternative feasible treatment(s). This court's opinion that feasible alternatives must be disclosed to every patient is 1 example of an encouraging trend in the recent case law on the issue of informed consent before radical surgery. Surgical consent forms should indicate that the patient has been informed of all the alternatives.
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