§ 74.105.Manner of Disclosure

The manner of disclosure, and each element is a condition.

Consent to medical care on the panel's disclosure list shall be considered effective under this chapter if it is:

given in writing; signed by the patient or a person authorized to give the consent; signed by a competent witness; and if the written consent specifically states the risks and hazards that are involved in the form and to the degree required by the panel.

The witness requirement is the one most easily overlooked. A signed consent form without a witness signature does not meet the section, whatever the patient understood.

"Specifically states the risks" rules out a general acknowledgment. A form reciting that risks were explained does not comply; the risks themselves must appear, in the panel's form and to the panel's degree.

The reward for compliance is substantial. Under the effect-of-disclosure section, disclosure made this way is admissible in evidence and creates a rebuttable presumption that the duty was met — and that presumption is included in the jury charge.

The provision is why informed consent in Texas is a documentary question far more than a testimonial one.