Pauscher v. Iowa Methodist Medical Center

After Pauscher became seriously ill following childbirth, her doctor ordered an IVP imaging test to check for a urinary obstruction, a procedure carrying only a roughly 1-in-100,000 to 150,000 risk of fatal anaphylactic shock, without discussing the test or its risks with her; Pauscher suffered exactly that rare reaction and died. Her estate sued the hospital and doctors for failing to obtain informed consent, and the trial court granted directed verdicts for the doctors, finding no evidence they departed from professional consent standards; the estate appealed, arguing the court should have applied a "patient rule" asking whether all material risks were disclosed, rather than a professional-standards test.