Down a slippery slope

“The makers of all products and the providers of all services are obliged to warn the public of possible mishaps: the medical profession should follow suit. Surgeons should protect themselves against being sued by making patients sign a consent form in which it is clearly stated that the patient understands, along with the other risks, that the operation may be unnecessary and could be poorly performed.

Similarly, doctors would be well advised to mount placards in their waiting rooms: ‘In medical practice errors of omission as well as commission are common and unavoidable. Sometimes the consequences lead to permanent disability, if not death. Patients who seek treatment here are assumed to have waived all claims.'”

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