Opinion ID: 1290704
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Special Verdict Question

Text: ¶ 50. Having determined that the scope of a chiropractor's duty to obtain informed consent is the same as that of a medical doctor, we next address whether the circuit court erred in failing to submit special verdict questions on informed consent. A special verdict must cover all material issues of ultimate fact. Wis. Stat. § (Rule) 805.12(1). The material issues of ultimate fact for a failure to provide informed consent are as follows: (1) the patient was not informed of the risks in the proposed treatment or procedure of which a reasonable person in the patient's position would wish to be made aware; (2) a reasonable person in the patient's position presented with such information would not have chosen to submit to the treatment or procedure; and (3) the failure to disclose such information was a cause of the patient's injuries. Martin, 192 Wis. 2d at 176, 182-83; Scaria, 68 Wis. 2d at 13-17; Wis JI  Civil 1023.1. ¶ 51. Here, the jury was not asked to find these ultimate issues of fact. Rather, the jury was asked only whether Boyson was negligent in treating Hannemann and whether such negligent treatment was the cause of Hannemann's injuries. The jury simply was not asked to find the three material issues of ultimate fact for failure to provide informed consent. ¶ 52. We note that generally [w]here a party might be found negligent in several respects a single question as to that party's negligence is permissible. Meurer, 90 Wis. 2d at 446. However, a failure to provide informed consent is a form of malpractice separate and discrete from negligence in treatment: A failure to diagnose is one form of medical malpractice. A failure to obtain informed consent is another discrete form of malpractice, requiring a consideration of additional and different factors.  Finley, 201 Wis. 2d at 628 (emphasis added). ¶ 53. While the modern concept of informed consent is based on negligence principles, providing negligent treatment and failing to provide informed consent involve the violation of two separate duties and the standards by which these duties must be measured are somewhat different[.] Scaria, 68 Wis. 2d at 20. As previously discussed, the duty to provide reasonable care in treatment is defined by the standards in the chiropractic community, whereas the duty to obtain informed consent is defined by what information a reasonable patient would want to know. ¶ 54. Thus, this court has held that upon a proper motion the question of failure to provide informed consent should be stated separately from the question of negligent treatment. Id. The court of appeals has held that a claim of informed consent is a separate cause of action that requires amendment of the pleadings or the implied consent of the parties to try the issue when the plaintiff pleads only negligence in treatment. Finley, 201 Wis. 2d at 629. In Martin, 192 Wis. 2d at 182-83, this court all but stated that an informed consent verdict that omits a cause question is fatally defective. [9] ¶ 55. Here, the verdict not only omitted the cause question on informed consent, it omitted the first two questions as well. Thus, the jury was never asked whether the risk of stroke was information that a reasonable patient would want to know in deciding whether to submit to chiropractic treatment. The jury was never asked whether a reasonable patient in Hannemann's position would have submitted to chiropractic treatment if presented with such information. Finally, the jury was never asked whether the failure to inform Hannemann of the risk of a stroke was the cause of his injuries. ¶ 56. In sum, the verdict submitted, negligence in chiropractic treatment, did not cover the material issues of ultimate fact for informed consent. The circuit court erroneously proceeded on the theory that failure to provide informed consent constituted negligence in chiropractic treatment and not a separate basis for liability. Therefore, we conclude that the circuit court erroneously exercised its discretion in failing to submit a separate special verdict on informed consent.