Treating the injured: a privilege conferred by both patient and wider society.
expert_opinion · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 38978514.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1302/2633-1462.57.BJO-2024-0052 and PMC identifier 11231759.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Two discrete legal factors enable the surgeon to treat an injured patient the fully informed, autonomous consent of the adult patient with capacity via civil law; and the medical exception to the criminal law. This article discusses current concepts in consent in trauma; and also considers the perhaps less well known medical exception to the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which exempts surgeons from criminal liability as long as they provide 'proper medical treatment'.