Posts Tagged ‘ Pelvic Exam ’

Pelvic Exams without Consent: Medical Malpractice Suit?

March 1st, 2010. By janem

Imagine you’re unconscious and several men insert objects into your vagina. Many women would consider this gang rape. At the very least, sexual assault. Guess what, it may have happened to you—without your knowledge!

How would you react if you underwent surgery such as a routine hysterectomy and found out that right after you were anesthetized, a team of medical students performed pelvic exams—without your consent? I believe that is a violation of our basic rights, to say the least. Where’s the respect? 

I know what I’d do: file a medical malpractice suit, pronto.  As a matter of fact, I’m actually scheduled for routine surgery in a few months—at a university hospital—and that rang my alarm bell. I called my gynecologist and spoke with her receptionist. “Under no circumstances do I want a student poking around my private parts,” I said, or probably yelled. She replied that I had to take that up with my gynecologist, who of course is never available for a phone call. 

So does uninformed consent qualify for a medical malpractice suit? Well, not quite, but then again, I haven’t spoken with a medical malpractice attorney…What I did discover online is that “A medical practitioner may also be legally liable if a patient does not give “informed consent” to a medical procedure that results in harm to the patient, even if the procedure is performed properly.” In my opinion, psychological harm fits the bill. 

In Canada, you aren’t even asked for consent, unlike the UK and the US—or so Americans and Brits were led to believe. Some ethical medical students have been asked to perform pelvic exams in Canada (and in British and American hospitals) without the patient’s knowledge, and they have refused. And that’s how the public knows about Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: medical malpractice, Pelvic Exam
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