Attorneys Respond to Medical Professional Liability FAQs on the Healthcare Proxy Law

During the course of a year, the attorneys at Fager Amsler Keller & Schoppmann, LLP, counsel to MLMIC Insurance Company, handle approximately 5,000 questions from policyholders on professional liability, risk management and healthcare law. Frequently, the questions asked by healthcare professionals involve requests for legal guidance on the healthcare proxy law.

Here, we’ve paired the FAQs on medical professional liability related to informed consent with the attorneys’ responses.

If an incompetent patient has a living will and a designated proxy agent, and the agent appears to be making decisions that are in contravention of the patient’s stated wishes, who prevails?

If you feel the proxy agent is not acting in the patient’s best interest, you may request that a court remove the agent and/or override the agent’s decisions which were made in bad faith. You should first attempt to meet with the proxy agent, either alone or with the hospital’s ethics committee, to discuss the matter and attempt to resolve any disputes, prior to going to court.

The attorneys of Fager Amsler Keller & Schoppmann, LLP (FAKS) perform thousands of hours of professional liability services per year. They are uniquely qualified to assess medical-legal issues and provide counsel to minimize liability exposure. MLMIC policyholders can reach 24/7 legal support services by calling (855) FAKS-LAW or emailing hotline@FAKSLAW.com. For more information about these services, offered exclusively to MLMIC policyholders, visit our web page on Legal 24/7.