'Potential to Mislead the Jury': State Appellate Court Calls for New Med Mal Trial Over Potentially Confusing Jury Instructions
“The instruction that consent need not be in writing was similarly unnecessary because consent was not in dispute. This instruction, combined with the consent instruction, had the potential to mislead the jury into believing that Ms. Harward’s nonverbal action of presenting at the infusion center and submitting to treatment was sufficient to establish that she gave informed consent to receive gentamicin,” Judge Michele M. Christiansen Forster wrote.