Parental consent
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Parental consent
My girlfriends son injured his toe in football
practice. She wanted to take him to the
hospital to have it looked at but he wasn’t
able to go when she wanted to take him. Later
the next day his friends dad took him but
heres where things get confusing. His friends
dad has no legal ties to her son so he took
him to the hospital and entered him under his
son’s name so he would be covered by his
insurance and be treated. He never contacted
my girlfriend to ask for consent and neither
did the hospital since they thought it was his
son since that’s how he was entered. So my
question is is there any legal action she can
take against the hospital or the friends
father for not requesting consent to treat her
son?
Asked on September 11, 2019 under Personal Injury, Iowa
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 4 years ago | Contributor
The hospital did nothing wrong: they were lied to and, as you write, thougnt the man was the boy's father. They had no reason to think that they needed anyone's consent other than the boy's alleged "father." Since they did nothong wrong, they are not liable for anything.
If this costs your girlfriend anything or in some way harms her son, she could sue the man for the costs or harm. But lawsuits only provide compensation for actual harm or economic loss, so if there wad no harm or loss, there is no point in suing.
She could file a police report for this, since he had no right to take her son or pretend to be his father.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.