PHYSICIAN DOES NOT HAVE DUTY TO ADVISE OF ILLEGAL ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT
In Schiff v. Prados (2001) 01 CDOS 8547, the First
Appellate District held that a physician does not have a duty to inform a
patient about alternative treatment that is not available in the state.
In Schiff, the family of a brain cancer patient sued a
number of physicians for failing to inform them of an alternative and
controversial experimental treatment available in a clinic in another state.
However, the treatment was not FDA approved and was therefore, illegal in
California. The court held that physicians owed no duty to inform patients
about illegal treatments because such treatments are essentially “not
available” in California. Imposition of such a duty of informed consent
would be contrary to the public policy proscribing unapproved cancer
treatments.
