Ketchup v. Howard

The Court of Appeals adopted the common law doctrine of informed consent providing that physicians and dentists have a duty to inform patients of the known material risks of a proposed treatment or procedure and any alternatives.

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The common law doctrine of informed consent provides that physicians and dentists have a duty to inform patients of the known material risks of a proposed treatment or procedure, and to inform patients of available treatment alternatives. All of the states except Georgia now recognize the informed consent doctrine.1 Since this court’s 1975 decision in Young v. Yarn,2 Georgia has not recognized any duty on the part of medical professionals to advise their patients of the known material risks of a proposed treatment or procedure, nor any duty to advise of the availability of reasonable alternative treatments, thus implicitly rejecting the common law doctrine of informed consent. Because Young v. Yarn was wrongly decided, because physicians and dentists have adopted the doctrine of informed consent into their own professional ethical standards, and because of developments in Georgia law since Young v. Yarn was decided, we now overrule that decision and all the cases which have followed it. Henceforth the law of this state, like that of the other 49 states, will recognize the common law doctrine of informed consent.

Dr. A. J. Howard examined Joseph Ketchup, and told him that he needed a root canal on one of his molars. The procedure was scheduled for a later date. Ketchup returned to Dr. Howard’s office on that date for the root canal procedure. Dr. Howard, without ever informing Ketchup of any risks involved with the procedure or of any alternative treatments, then performed the root canal.

Ketchup v. Howard

The Court of Appeals adopted the common law doctrine of informed consent providing that physicians and dentists have a duty to inform patients of the known material risks of a proposed treatment or procedure and any alternatives.

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