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Chatterton v Gerson [1981] QB 432

Court decision

To succeed, the plaintiff would have had to prove that there was not only a breach of duty to inform, but that had the duty not been broken, she would not have chosen to have the operation.

The claims in battery and for negligence failed, because it was decided that the patient need only be 'informed in broad terms of the nature of the procedure which is intended.' If she then consents, that consent is real. However, if the information were withheld in bad faith, the consent would be vitiated by fraud.

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