this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2024
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It likely was harmless, since the article infers ther surgery went well. It was just inappropriate and looks bad. When suing in the US you have to show damages. The patient may have a hard time winning his case.
Which part of the US 🇺🇸 is Austria 🇦🇹 in?
Missouri. The capital is Vienna.
I wasn't inferring this was a US case. But a lot of law isn't very dissimilar in most countries, so just taking a guess I would assume you'd have to show damages in Austria, as well.
I think that's an entirely wrong starting point. Operating on a person without their informed consent is bodily harm. You have to prove the patient agreed. (Ignoring for the moment situations where they can't.)
The patient never agreed to a surgery in part performed by that kid, but to one performed entirely by trained professionals.
But there was no bodily harm. If the procedure had failed or an infection happened there would be, but from the light bit of info in the article, the procedure was successful. No damages incurred due to the 13 year olds involvement.
Opening up the patient - by itself - is bodily harm ("Körperverletzung") already. It is only legal in the context of consent, and that consent only carries any weight if it was informed. Even if nothing goes wrong and no damages occur the lack of informed consent makes the act illegal.
This is probably https://gesetzefinden.at/bundesrecht/bundesgesetze/stgb/para-83 by the child, who is too young to be tried or punished, but should be https://gesetzefinden.at/bundesrecht/bundesgesetze/stgb/para-282 by the mother.
Maybe https://gesetzefinden.at/bundesrecht/bundesgesetze/stgb/para-110 is also relevant, if we assume the deficient consent also has consequences for the other medical treatment that occured from other people in the room.
Life saving emergencies constitute implied consent. It doesn't actually need to be given beforehand if it's to save/help someone who can't currently make a choice.
Okay, sorry, I didn't realize this wasn't a scheduled surgery, I only read the German article from the comments.
Yes there is the concept of implied consent for those cases where a patient can't make his will known. But in those cases you have to act along the presumed will of the patient. That will of the patient would regularily be presumed to contain the lege artis, at least in a setting where the hospital has been reached already and the option was available. So that again precludes untrained people participating in my view.