A Bad Day for Georgia Citizens - Georgia Supreme Court Strikes Down Informed Consent

Today, the Georgia Supreme Court dealt a blow to patient's rights. In their wisdom, the Court determined that Georgia citizens do not have the right to be informed of the material risks of medical procedures, except in very limited circumstances.  In the case of Doreika v. Blotner, the Court found that medical professionals do not have to inform their patients of the risks of dangerous procedures and do not have to obtain their patients' informed consent before proceeding with treatment.  So understand how this works:  a young woman goes to see a chiropractor with complaints of headache. The chiropractor recommends manipulating her neck, without advising her that such a procedure can cause STROKE.  The woman does indeed suffer stroke.  The Georgia Supreme Court decision means the chiropractor cannot be held responsible for crippling this woman because he had no duty to ever advise his patient of the risks. Hopefully, the Georgia Legislature will remedy this unfortunate decision and restore patients' rights.