A 17-year-old male has presented to the emergency department with appendicitis. He speaks English, but his mother speaks Spanish. The mother needs to consent for the surgery since the patient is a minor. The doctor determines that the consent is not needed due to the emergent nature of the case. If the doctor proceeds without obtaining consent, he may face:

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The National Center for Cultural Competence (n.d.a) noted that health professionals who lack cultural and linguistic competency can be found liable under tort principles in several areas such as treatment in the absence of informed consent. In addition, providers may be presumed negligent if an individual is unable to follow guidelines because they conflict with his or her beliefs and the provider neglected to identify and try to accommodate the beliefs. Additionally, if a provider proceeds with treatment or an intervention based on miscommunication due to poor quality language assistance, he or she and his or her organization may face increased civil liability exposure.

A 17-Year-Old Male Has Presented to the Emergency Department with Appendicitis