Abstract
The infrequent occurrence of negative results of treatment from all types of health care occasionally results in litigation. The primary points of informed consent and material risk have received greater focus in law since 1980. Supreme Court and lower court cases have stressed the priority of patient’s rights to choose what is best for their body. The courts have given strong guidelines that the attending health practitioner has the responsibility to ensure that all possible consequences are told to the patient to ensure an informed consent to treatment. A material risk is found as a risk with grave consequences regardless of the frequency it is statistically shown to occur. If these have not been disclosed then the patient was not able to have provided an informed consent. Material risks are inherent to most treatments provided by health providers. Proper standards of care will necessarily include ensuring that the patient is aware of risks of care as well as providing the optimum care.
Keywords: Material risk, informed consent, chiropractic, manipulation
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