Medical Battery: When Patient Rights Conflict with Quality of Care

An important legal issue with potential ethical, monetary and patient care implications involves the revocation of informed consent and the potential for a lawsuit based on medical battery. In performing medical or surgical... [ view full abstract ]

An important legal issue with potential ethical, monetary and patient care implications involves the revocation of informed consent and the potential for a lawsuit based on medical battery. In performing medical or surgical procedures, healthcare providers frequently are told to “stop” by patients. Sometimes these situations involve patients attempting to avoid something as simple as installation of eye drops or a part of a routine medical examination. For instance, a claim was brought against an ophthalmologist for failing to remove an automatic blood pressure cuff during a procedure to remove a small mass from a patient’s lower lid. Medical battery is discussed. Case law involving the revocation of informed consent is reviewed. The author conducted a 2015 Healthcare Survey of healthcare providers and the results are analyzed. Ethical considerations are discussed and suggestions are made for recognizing situations in which a physician should stop a procedure and thus avoid a potential legal conflict.